Cyprus State Scholarship Fund budget approved at €10 million; additional €1.7 million allocated

The Plenum unanimously approved the budget of the Cyprus State Scholarship Fund (IKIK) at €10,000,000 for the period up to December 31, 2026, and unanimously agreed on additional credits from the fund amounting to €1,700,000.

The additional funds include a permanent increase in the state subsidy by €800,000, effective from 2025, and a retroactive payment of €900,000 to cover additional scholarships for the 2023–2024 academic year.

AKEL MP Christos Christofidis pointed out a serious problem in the announcement of scholarships, noting that it “does not even include half of the scholarships that were provided in previous years.” According to him, about 950 scholarships were previously issued, while now only around 400 have been announced. AKEL demanded that the Ministry of Finance fund all approved students; this was done, but only for one year.

DIKO MP Chrisandos Savvidis emphasized the importance of the fund’s work and noted that some students remained uncovered. Independent MP Andreas Themistokleous also called for rectifying the injustice, highlighting the risks for those relying on the payments to complete their studies.

The IKIK budget is balanced: expenditures and revenues total €10,000,000 and will be covered by the state subsidy. Major expenditure items are social and educational payments amounting to €9,319,491. Funds are intended to provide scholarships for undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs for the 2025–2026 academic year, payments to existing scholarship holders, as well as scholarships via the French national body “Campus France” under a bilateral agreement. The budget also includes partial coverage of the fund’s personnel expenses.