The elephant in the room

No New Year honours for UCLan, Cyprus – the University of Central Lancashire.  The latest body to fall foul of a marriage of convenience with Cypriot entrepreneurs. 

Somebody in Lancashire had the bright idea of building a campus in Pyla, Cyprus, bestowing their academic largesse over less than ideal Elysian Fields. 

Pyla is unique in that it's the only village on the island occupied by both Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities:  a politically sensitive but largely peaceful bi-communal, semi-rural village with a population of about 1,300, perched on the contentious “Attila Line” under the watchful guard of a UN peacekeeping force (UNFICYP). 

At the very heart of the detente is a commitment from both sides not to develop the area. 

So what happened when UCLan turned up?  Greek Cypriot property developers, namely the Hassapis Group which owns a 49% stake in the university, went rampant.  Coincidentally, Hassapis is one of the companies involved in the CYTA land deal scandals.  The campus cost 53 million euro to build.  Who gave them permission to renege on the Pyla agreement? 

UCLan Cyprus lies partly within the UN Buffer Zone, i.e. No Man’s Land, and therefore needed planning permission from the UN Security Council.  This was not granted, but the university and the developer went ahead all the same, prompting a formal rebuke from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in January 2013.  The building “remains unauthorised”, a UNFICYP spokesman said.   

UCLan is the brainchild of insatiable Cypriot greed.

Surely the eminent scholars/businessmen of Lancashire also know that the land around Pyla is throbbing with unexploded mines left over from the 1974 war, as well as British army firing ranges.  Not exactly conducive to study.  “Friendly fire” is the biggest oxymoron of the 21^st century, now with the potential to enter the corridors of academia. 

The Greek sign at Pyla says: "Danger.  Mines."
Associated Press photo

The university chancellor, or rector as they call it, optimistically anticipated 5,000 students in the first 5 years.  That was before the Cyprus financial crisis exploded.  Since the Pyla campus first opened its doors in October 2012, its student body has allegedly not passed the 250 mark.  

 

Full-time undergraduate fees at the Cyprus campus are currently 9,950 euro per year (approximately £8,270 GBP), according to its website.  For that sort of money, students and their parents expect a bit more than a flash lobby and smart digs.  In the 2014 UK league tables, UCLan UK ranks 92nd out of 124 British universities, i.e. in the bottom third.  A significant drop of 23 places from the previous year. 

Last year, UCLan UK was controversially involved in industrial action as the first university in the UK to try and become a private company, according to Times Higher Education.  A move fiercely opposed by British trade unions who forced the uni to shelve the business plans.  Company status is still the "preferred option" for UCLan and may come further down the line.  If it succeeds, the Cyprus campus could be sold or written off into extinction, rendering the value of qualifications gained by current students effectively worthless. 

Looks like Cyprus has a Lancunian white elephant in its midst.