Bill caps time allowed for students to do degree

The maximum time students will have to complete their university degrees is six years for those on a four-year course, eight years for those on a five-year course and nine years for a six-year course, according to the changes made to a bill that is currently under consultation in the Parliamentary Committee on Educational Affairs.

The bill introduced last month by Education Minister Niki Kerameus seek to rid universities of so-called "eternal students" who take years on end to complete their degrees.

"The bill that we are introducing is a bill of common sense," Kerameus told the committee yesterday.

"It is common sense that it is not normal to be a student for 20 or 30 years. It is common sense that there must be a beginning, a middle and an end to every educational process, in every educational context," she added.