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heap and flexible forms of work is the “favourite” practice of employers, as it ensures additional profits by reducing labour costs. One of the worst forms of exploitation, is that of students from third countries who arrive in Cyprus misled that they will find “heavenly conditions” and end up working ten or twelve hours per day for very low wages. This problem resurfaced these days, due to the permission given to 800 students from Bangladesh to enter Cyprus, by the Minister of Interior Mr Socrates Hasikos, despite the warnings of the Immigration
Additionally, the Commissioner notes “an inflexible and unfair treatment of these students ... that leads them to quit their studies and consequently be deported from the country”. Based on the memo, the checks made by Private Institutions of Higher Education are “random” and “non on a regular basis”, and the legislation implementation on the subject is deficient. The Commissioner stressed that, specific actions or behaviours, are actually characteristics of “recruitment”, which lead to forms of trafficking.
This is an elaborated plot in which private Colleges in collaboration with their agents attract foreign students, by traveling to third countries and presenting misleading and false information to attract new “customers”. Unit of the police, that these students presented fake documents and thus were registered in the Alert List and the disagreements of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education. Based on the recent memo of the Commissioner for Administration (Ombudsman) submitted to the Parliament during the discussion of the matter, from Cyprus “substantive and procedural guarantees are absent to prevent the risk of misinformation and exploitation of students from third countries”.
The Authority Against Discrimination has drafted a detailed report, according to which there is lack of official and uniform source of information for third-country nationals who wish to study in Cyprus, but only scattered information on the websites of various services.
Basically, the students from third countries primarily come in contact with the “agents” of private Colleges and Universities and not any state authority. This is an elaborated plot in which private Colleges in collaboration with their agents attract foreign students, by traveling to third countries and presenting misleading and false information to attract new “customers”. This is an ongoing situation which authorities constantly neglect to address. The exploitation of students is covered up with the blessings of the economic establishment.
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