Private schools will have assistants paid for

Cyprus’ Administrative Court overturned the Ministry of Education’s decision to deny a child with special needs school support because the child attended a private school. The ministry, together with the Legal Service, is now assessing the legal and financial consequences of the ruling, but for now it continues to operate under the old rules.

The refusal was deemed unlawful on the basis of the ratified UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Previously, the state provided assistants free of charge only in public schools, which the ombudsman and the courts considered discriminatory. Against this backdrop, the republic is seeing a sharp rise in demand for such specialists: in the 2025/26 school year, more than 1,750 aides are already involved in schools.