SUSTAINABILITY OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR IN NORTH CYPRUS By Mehmet Tahiroglu Presented at THE WOLFSON CYPRUS GROUP CONFERENCE On “SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN CYPRUS: TOWARDS ECONOMIC CONVERGENCE AND REUNIFICATION – THE CASE OF NORTHERN CYPRUS Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce 27 – 28 May, 2005 Nicosia

TABLE 1 ENROLLMENTS IN UNIVERSITIES IN University Enrollments Eastern Mediterranean University (1979)* 14,000 Girne American University (1985) 4,000 Near East University (1988) 11,000 Lefke European University (1990) 2,600 Cyprus International University (1996) 2,400 Middle East Technical Univ.Kalkanli Campus (2005)** 250 Total 34,250

Student Distribution: (2005) North Cyprus 9,875 (29.5 Percent) Turkey 20,570 (60.5 percent) Other Countries 3,555 (10.5 percent)

TABLE 2 PROJECTED ENROLLMENTS Universities Eastern Mediterranean University 14,000 17,000 20,000 Girne American University 4,000 10,000 13,000 Near East University 11,000 15,000 15,000 Lefke European University 2,600 5,000 7,000 Cyprus International University 2,400 5,000 6,000 Middle East Technical University 250* 3,000 6,000 _______________ 34,250 55,000 67,000

TABLE 3 REALIZED AND PLANNED INVESTMENT ($million) University Realized Investment Planned Investment ( ) Eastern Mediterranean Univ. $143 $50 Girne American Univ Near East Univ Lefke European Univ Cyprus International Univ Middle East Technical Univ Total $410 mill. $250 mill.

TABLE 4 FACULTY AND STAFF REQUIREMENTS University EMU: Academic : 660 (21:1)* 875 (20:1) 1000 (20:1) Non-academic : GAU: Academic : 214 (19:1) 500 (20:1) 650 (20:1) Non-academic : NEU: Academic : 500 (22:1) 680 (22:1) 750 (20:1) Non-academic : LEU: Academic : 111 (23:1) 250 (20:1) 375 (20:1) Non-academic : CIU: Academic : 90 (27:1) 227 (22:1) 320 (22:1) Non-academic : METU: Academic : (18:1) 320 (18:1) Non-academic : Total: Academic : Non-academic :

V. CONCLUSION: VISIONS FOR THE NEAR FUTURE The higher education sector in North Cyprus is very much the driving force for the economic, cultural and social development of the country. In the next few years, we envision the universities of North Cyprus to be fully integrated with the European higher education system as part of framework of the Bologna Declaration of In case of a solution in Cyprus, education will of course remain as the exclusive jurisdiction of State authority and, accordingly, this sector’s heavy reliance on students from Turkey will continue, even as student composition is diversified with increasing share of international students especially from Asia and Africa. Our universities will continue offering high quality instruction in English and, we believe this will remain as a strong basis of our comparative advantage. Indeed, in an eventual solution in Cyprus, these universities on the island should be fully utilized by all citizens of the United Republic of Cyprus and become island-wide centers of higher learning and sustain their competitiveness in the world of higher education.