NICOSIA, 30 June 2005 — Colleges in Cyprus have launched an innovative scheme that allows students to earn while they learn, thus easing financial burden of their parents.
One such is Intercollege, where students from 70 countries, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, are pursuing courses in business administration, hotel management, Information Technology and nursing.
Three aspects of the curriculum have a direct bearing on the Saudi educational system. First, even though Greek is the mother tongue of Greek Cypriots, they recognize the importance of learning English as an international language. Hence 80 percent of the students of Intercollege are Greek Cypriots who opted for English as the medium of instruction.
Second, the students are allowed to work on the college campus during their free time. This helps them to meet the cost of tuition fees while relieving their parents of financial worries.
Third, the college provides the alumni with an opportunity for hands-on experience by exposing them to the job market. Students undertake assignments on a commercial basis for college clients ranging from software programming, audiovisual presentation to TV commercials for the private sector at discounted rates. Corporate clients get work done at competitive rates; students gain practical experience while working in actual situations and the college nets income from an additional source. The experience acquired in this way enables the students to generate income from their respective fields of study on the campus during their spare time.
Ramneek Singh, an Indian MBA student, said he was working in the IT training department coaching other students. “I take care of the network and hardware. We also do software programming for our clients,” he observed.
Adnan Mohammed, a Pakistani student from Lahore, said he has been doing a course in hotel management for the last three years. As for part-time income, “I work in the cafeteria to earn something that keeps me going.”
“We welcome Saudi students to Nicosia as part of a package tour and combine short-term courses in English, computer literacy and health education with sight-seeing and shopping,” Nicos Peristianis, executive dean of the college said.