Indicator history

In the field of education,  the Ministry of Education introduced (for the first time during school year 2003-2004) the institution of the Educational Priorities Zones (ZEP) which aims at promoting literacy and school achievement in economically and socially depressed areas. One of the criteria as to whether a certain area is deemed as an Educational Priority Zone is the number of non Greek-speaking residents.This measure aims at placing in a special category certain schools where special attention and particular measures are needed to address certain educational needs, such as pupils coming from particularly poverty-stricken areas, high concentration of non-native Greek speakers, high dropout rate etc. Schools classified as falling within EPZ receive extra teaching hours and other measures where needed. The institution of EPZ aims at reducing inequalities for pupils attending schools in disadvantaged areas with an increased proportion of immigrants and ethnic communities, combating school failure and illiteracy. There are currently three EPZ are in operation in Cyprus, covering 17 school units and including the schools with a high concentration of Roma pupils.

 In the field of housing of the Roma community, the policy applicable as from 2000 (the date marks the en mass flow of Roma from north of the country to the south) is to provide all Cypriot Roma with publically administered housing. This takes the form of one out of three following types:‘Abandoned’ Turkish-Cypriot property, prefabricated houses in specially designated settlements in remote areas near villages, rented accommodation which is leased from the landlords to the Welfare Services Department, which then offers it to Roma for accommodation. By general admission, the accomodation provided is substandard and in many cases unfit for human habitation. Its isolated location has attracted criticism by ECRI and by the national equality body for depriving Roma children of access to schools. Over the last couple of years there has been an effort to regenerate the old Turkish Cypriot quarter of Limassol and some of the old houses were repaired. Some of the houses inhabited by the Roma have been maintained and repaired by the government, but the pace of repairs is slow. Also a multi-purpose community centre was set up in the Turkish quarter, which aimed at taking action towards integrating the Roma and promoting their participation within the local community. However, the building remains closed most of the time as no arrangements or budget were allocated for a full timer to be present.