The Department of Statistics and Research announces that it has published the annual report "Statistics of Education" for the school-year 1996/97. The report provides detailed information regarding the number of educational institutions, pupils/students, teaching and non-teaching personnel, expenditure, the progress of pupils at each level of education and of Cypriot students abroad.

2. The main findings in education during 1996/97 were:

• At all levels of education, there were 1.207 institutions with 162.498 full- time pupils/students and 12.275 teaching staff.
• The proportion enrolled in public institutions was 81,0% and in private 19,0%.
• The number of pupils/students enrolled by level of education were as follows: pre-primary 25.996, primary 64.761, secondary 61.266, third level 9.982 and special education 493. The number of pupils/trainees in part-time institutes and other non-formal education was 108.091.
• Cypriot students abroad totalled 9.813. Of these 42,8% were studying in Greece, 27,9% in the United Kingdom, 19,1% in the United States and 10,2% in other countries.
• Expenditure on education at all levels, both public and private, stoïd at £289,9mn. Public expenditure amounted to £192,5mn and accounted for 12,9% of the Government' s budget and 4,6% of the Gross National Product.

3. In more detail, the main developments by level of education during the school-year 1996/97 compared to 1995/96 were:

Pre-primary Education:

Pre-primary schools increased in 1996/97 to 659 compared to 647 of the previous year. The number of children decreased by 1,0% and dropped to 25.996 from 26.254 and the teaching staff increased from 1.323 to 1.426. The enrolment ratio of the 2-5 age group rose slightly to 60,0% in relation to 59,9% in 1995/96.

 Primary Education:

In 1996/97 there were 376 primary schools with 64.761 pupils and 4.159 teachers compared to 381 schools with 64.660 pupils and 3.411 teachers in 1995/96. The pupil/teacher ratio was 15,6 in comparison to 19,0 in the previous school-year and it is worth noting that 15 years ago this ratio was 21,0. Of the total primary school population 68,1% was attending schools in urban areas and the remaining 31,9% in rural areas. Primary school leavers in 1995/96 decreased by 1,5% to 10.828 from 10.989 in 1994/95.This is due to demographic developments.

Secondary Education:

In 1996/97 there were 125 secondary schools with 61.266 pupils and 5.757 teachers compared to 123 schools, 59.845 pupils and 4.832 teachers in 1995/96. The pupil/teacher ratio was 10,6 in relation to 12,4 in the previous school-year and 14,5 ten years ago. Enrolments in public schools accounted for 90,0% and in private schools for 10,0%, in relation to 89,5% and 10,5% respectively, in 1995/96.

School leavers from both public and private secondary schools, increased by 4,8% to 7.403 in 1995/96 from 7.064 in 1994/95.

The distribution of school leavers by subject orientation in 1995/96 was as follows: Lyceum of Optional Subjects S1 (Combination of Humanities studies) 11.9%, S2 (Combination of Science Subjects) 16,0%, S3 (Combination of Economics) 30,3%, S4 (Combination of Secretarial Studies) 16,7%, S5 (Combination of Foreign Languages) 2,6%, Technical/Vocational 15,4% and General Studies 7,1%.

A remarkable increase in the share of secondary school leavers who continue their studies beyond the secondary level either in Cyprus or abroad, was observed in the last decade. In 1981/82 40% proceeded to third level education compared to 63% in 1996/97. Futhermore a change in those attending local third level educational institutions has been observed. In 1981/82 only 25% of the total students were enrolled in local institutions, while in 1996/97 this rose to 57%.

Third Level Education:

In 1996/97, there were 35 public and private institutions with a total enrolment of 9.982 students, compared to 8.874 in 1995/96. This increase is mainly attributed to a larger number of students who enrolled at the University of Cyprus as well as to the students of the Cyprus Police Academy which was included as a Third Level institution for the first time.. Of the third level students, 49,9% were enrolled in public and the remaining 50,1% in private institutions. Males accounted for 44,3% of the total enrolments and females for 55,7%.

Non-formal Education

Enrolments in part-time courses increased from 84.134 in 1995/96 to 90.797 in 1996/97. In addition, 17.294 persons attended the adult education centres in comparison to 14.650 in the previous year. Of the total enrolments in part-time courses, 21.289 were primary school pupils and 40.290 secondary school pupils. During the school-year 1996/97 a total of 837 full-time and 1.766 part-time teachers were engaged in non-formal education compared to 596 full-time and 1.727 part-time in 1995/96.

Cypriot Students Abroad:

During the academic year 1996/97 there were 9.813 Cypriot students abroad compared to 9.213 in 1995/96. Males accounted for 53,4% of the total students abroad and females 46,6%. It is worth noting that two decades ago the proportion of females was only 38,3%. (These data refer only to those registered with the Ministry of Education for the purpose of obtaining foreign exchange for their studies).

The distribution of students by main country of study was: Greece 42,8%, United Kingdom 27,9%, U.S.A. 19,1%, Germany 1,7%, Italy 1,2%, Austria 0,5% and France 0,8%. The most popular fields of study were: Commercial and Business Administration (15,4%), Engineering/ Technology (12,7%), Medical (10,9%), Social Sciences (10,3%), Humanities (8,2%), Fine Arts (6,5%) and Mathematics and Computer Science (6,5%). During the last five years a small change in preferences for fields of study was recorded, Humanities Programmes and Fine Arts attracted a higher proportion of students, while Education, Service Trades and Engineering-Technology became less popular.

During the academic year 1995/96 it is estimated that 2.153 (1.216 males and 937 females) Cypriot students have graduated from various overseas third level educational institutions.

Financing of Education

Total expenditure on education in 1996 was £289,9mn compared to £267,0mn in 1995, accounting for about 7,0% of the Gross National Product. Public expenditure increased from £177,8mn in 1995 to £192,5mn in 1996, representing approximately 12,9% of the Government Budget and 4,6% of the G.N.P. Current expenditure increased by 7,4% and capital expenditure by 13,5%. Expenditure on Cypriot students abroad is estimated at £50,3mn in 1996 compared to £44,6mn in 1995. This corresponds to 1,2% of the Gross National Product.

The current cost per student for public schools in 1996 by level of education was: pre-primary £785, primary £881, secondary general £1.514, technical £2.541, local third level non-university education £2.398, public university £4.135 and special education £4.847.

4. The Report is obtainable from the Government Printing Office in Nicosia at £6,00 per copy.