According to the Compulsory Education Law, pre-primary education is compulsory for all children who live in Cyprus, if before the 1st September of the school year
2024-2025, the child is 4 years and 6 months old.
2025-2026, the child is 4 years and 5 months old.
2026-2027, the child is 4 years and 4 months old.
2027-2028, the child is 4 years and 4 months old.
2028-2029, the child is 4 years and 3 months old.
2029-2030, the child is 4 years and 2 months old.
2030-2031, the child is 4 years and 1 month old.
2031-2032, and onwards, the child is 4 years old.
Children can enrol in a Pre-Primary class, if before the 1st September of the school year that they will start school, are 5 years old. Parents who violate the Compulsory Education Law are prosecuted.
Enrolment period
Enrolment of Pre-Primary school pupils in all public schools takes place online and/or in person through a procedure determined by the competent authority in January every year. Parents can be informed about the specific dates from pupils already attending Primary school or from the media.
After the registration period expires, school headteachers are not allowed to enrol more pupils. For registrations or transfers after the January registration period, parents need to apply to the relevant District Education Office.
Who can enrol in Public Pre-Primary Schools?
All children who live in Cyprus, regardless of nationality, are eligible for enrolment, irrespective of whether their parents are legal residents or not.
Educational regions
According to the Educational Region law pupils of Compulsory Pre-Primary Education age should register at the school belonging to their educational region. Pupils can enrol at a school of another educational region after they obtain transfer approval from the relevant District Education Office and provided that they have already registered at the school of their educational region.
Enrolment in Compulsory Pre-Primary Education takes place at the Pre-Primary schools of each educational region. The revised list of educational regions is made available on the internet in late December, before the registration period begins.
All children who reach the Compulsory Pre-Primary Education age (4 years and 5 months old and above, for the school year 2025-2026) must enrol at the Pre-Primary school of their educational region, even if they intend to transfer to another school. No application for transfer will be examined, if the child is not already registered at the Pre-Primary school of his/her educational region.
Pupils of Compulsory Pre-Primary Education age interested in enrolling at a Pre-Primary school outside their educational region, can register without having to follow the transfer procedure described above, if the Pre-Primary school is located next to a primary school in which they have older siblings (in grades 1-5).
Certificates required for the enrolment process
For pupils who enrol in Compulsory Pre-Primary Education, the following forms/certificates are necessary:
1. YPAN DDE 11- Application for Registration in Primary or Pre-Primary School
(Compulsory Pre-Primary Education and Pre-Primary class):
the form can be found on the Department of Primary Education website (YPAN DDE 11) and must be completed by all parents who apply for the registration of their child for the first time in the specific Pre-Primary school.
2. Birth certificate/ Alien Registration Certificate (ARC):
For children who have been born in Cyprus and enrol for the first time an official birth certificate is required. For children who have been born abroad, the Alien Registration Certificate (ARC) is required or other official document issued by the child’s country of birth. If parents do not have any official documents, pupils can be registered after all necessary information required by the school is provided and all relevant school documents are completed. Photocopies of the above documents are accepted only if they have been certified by a relevant official. 3. Bills as proof of residential address:
Along with the aforementioned official documents parents should also submit two bills (a refuse bill and a recent electricity bill) which indicate the pupil’s residential address. If the parents rent a house and it is not possible to provide a refuse bill, they should submit the lease document in addition to the electricity bill.
All the aforementioned documents/certificates need to be submitted by parents to the school upon registration. The original birth certificates are returned after the completion of enrolment, once the school has photocopied the certificate and sealed the copy with the school stamp.
New applications for registrations/transfers for reasons of residence change which are submitted during the registration period in January can be carried out by the headteacher of the school to which the child intends to transfer. The necessary documents which prove the change in address need to be submitted to the school.
Note that transfers for other reasons, or because of a change in address, that cause housing or other problems to schools are only accepted after approval from the relevant District Education Office. An application form (YPAN DDE 33) should be submitted to the office mentioned above.
All the information mentioned above applies only during the registration period in January. After this period, parents must apply to the relevant District Education Office.
Please note that applications for registration/transfer at the District Education Office can only be submitted by parents of children of Compulsory Pre-Primary Education age (4 years and 5 months old and above, for the school year 2025-2026). Applications for younger children are not accepted.
Schools and parents are informed about the results of transfer applications by the end of January.
Prior to the confirmation of the registrations, usually in April, the schools and parents who have submitted a late application for registration/transfer or submitted appeals towards earlier decisions, are informed about the results of the process.
Confirmation of registration
Confirmation of registration in Public Pre-Primary Schools takes place usually within April, online and/or in person through a procedure, determined by the Director of Primary Education every year. The specific dates are announced by the media. All parents must confirm the registration of their child/children to ensure his/ their place in the particular school.
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