[Introduction to North Cyprus]
North Cyprus Universities
[Complaints and Feedback page]
EUL (European University of Lefke )
Flash News received late PM 07.04.08 re:
EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY OF LEFKE/EUL/LAU- ‘EUHELL ON SEA’. click here ISAS News Page
EUL Update January 2006
WARNING (Here we go again)!
The New Year is not off to a good start at the European University of Lefke.
The appointment of a new Director of the English Preparatory School was reported in the “Homerfile” recently. Well he didn’t last long. Despite considerable financial investment by EUL/LAU in his ‘doctorial (PhD) studies?’ he resigned from his post after he had perpetrated a serious assault upon a male student. As you might imagine, “Homerfile” is on the case and has some further news about the ‘would be’ doctors’ of EUL/LAU among other topics of interest. It would appear that a right old scandal is brewing. Homerfile’s article will appear at the beginning of February 2006, by which time the BOTS will have foisted another Director upon the long suffering and, the now literally battered and bruised students of EUL/LAU. What with bogus doctorates/ex-postulants, Workers committees, thugs, oh and not forgetting, the odd homophile, maybe now would be time for another alcoholic!
EUL/LAU CONTINUES TO BE A DANGEROUS PLACE TO STUDY AND IS NOW CLEARLY OUT OF CONTROL. IN OUR OPINION, IT IS TOTALLY IRRESPONSIBLE AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS FOR ANY PARENT OR GOVERNMENT BODY TO SEND ANY YOUNG PERSON TO THIS UNIVERSITY ONCE THEY ARE IN POSSESSION OF THE FACTS. YOU SHOULD ALWAYS BE MINDFUL OF THE TRAGIC DEATH OF MUJDAT KOROGLU Mujdat - AND NOW THIS LATEST INCIDENT.
OUR ADVICE WOULD BE TO LOOK AT ANY OF THE OTHER NORTH CYPRUS UNIVERSITIES UNTIL SERIOUS IMPROVEMENTS ARE MADE AT EUL/LAU.
AN INDEPENDENT AND THOROUGH INVESTIGATION BY THE APPROPRIATE REGULATORY AUTHORITIES CONCERNING THE RUNNING, MANAGEMENT AND APPOINTMENT OF STAFF AT EUL/LAU IS LONG OVERDUE.
EUL/Cyprus Science Foundation
The European University of Lefke (EUL), is situated on a hill in the extreme North Western part of the island in the village of Gemikonagi. Lefke from where the EUL takes its name is about a kilometer further inland. The university is adequately served by public transport between the hours of 7-5 Monday to Friday but outside these times it is difficult to access, or escape depending on your point of view.
We include this university despite the fact that as an International Student, you are hardly likely to choose it for your further education. European in name it might be, but in practice it most certainly is not. The university has been on a downward slide since its association with Brighton University ended some years ago, and is now affected by a pervading air of decay and desperation. Subject of a long standing political power struggle, the university has been pulled from pillar to post in recent years and now has a frightening atmosphere of xenophobia about it.
Although most of the courses should be taught in English, in practice Turkish is the language of choice which is fine for the Turkish speaking student, but not for the foreign student. Teaching consists of mostly three hour lectures taught almost entirely in Turkish. The teacher might, if you are lucky, give a brief summery in English at the end of the lecture. Of the few lecturers who try to lecture in English, most succumb to the protests of the majority Turkish students. Students are not encouraged to express opinions or ideas. Use initiative, challenge, or question their lecturers: such behavior is positively discouraged.
The classrooms are overcrowded, poorly equipped, cold in the winter and unbearably hot in the summer. The buildings generally are in a poor state of repair.
Native speakers of English and teachers arriving from overseas arrive and depart quickly. Consequently, students cannot expect continuity in who will teach them from one week to the next. Teachers who have stood up for the students or spoken out against the oppressive regime have been swiftly dispatched as one former head of department said recently, “It reminds one of Nacht und Nebel erlass” (People disappearing into the night and fog).
What is perhaps more worrying is the fact that several teachers have departed recently after they were unable to produce any documentary evidence of their qualifications. Maybe the diplomas were left on a bus somewhere. However, some were found to be bogus; a recent check upon qualifications brings more claimed Masters and Doctorate degrees into question. One recent incident involving a former Head of Department revealed that he had cut and pasted the contents of five American PhD theses, and then published them in book form under his own name…and it gets worse!
The English Foundation/Preparatory School is now run by a committee having worked its way through no less than 15 Directors in a six year period and now has an air of terminal failure about it. Teachers arrive and depart at an alarming rate and foreign teachers last on average for one semester. At the time of writing, no full-time native speaker remains in the department and many of the remaining teachers speak a language that the stranger does not know. One thing is for sure, you are most unlikely to learn any English there, and certainly not to a level which will allow you to participate in any meaningful degree programme.
There are four restaurants on campus, three being of the average fast food type. The exception being a restaurant run by Umut and his father where food is of surprisingly high quality and at very reasonable prices -provided you like chicken.
The university advertises symposiums from time to time. The next symposium relates to “Teaching English through literature,” which brings us nicely on to the subject of the EUL library. The library is not exactly bursting with a wealth of literature and has a computer system that is most unlikely to put you in touch with the great libraries of the world!
The website for EUL, potentially worded to mislead, states that the university boasts a library with a capacity for 300,000 books. The university library may have the capacity for 300,000 books but actually contains around 3000. Most of those are in Turkish and furthermore, irrelevant to the curriculum. Clearly, there is no scope for serious research here.
The university boasts modern computer systems with a fast reliable internet connection but in practice, most of the computers are obsolete and any connection to the outside world is slow and unreliable. As stated on our introductory page prospective students should be very careful about relying upon individual university websites, publicity material, and agent’s promises, without checking the facts out for yourself, either by a personal visit or in writing.
THE SURROUNDING AREA.
Up until 1974, the area was known for its copper mining activities and as a result of poor environmental management by the previous owners that operated the mines, the area is littered with the by-products of the industry including dangerous pollutants that still seep from the land and waterways nearby. The sea just before you enter the village runs a coppery shade of red which can be seen from the road as you enter the village traveling from the east. The broken remains of machinery and buildings scar the landscape of what once must have been a beautiful area. Click on the following link for more information on the CMC mine: Cyprus Environmental Problems Dossier: Remains of the Lefke CMC Mine
The village of Gemikonagi has little by way of entertainment save for two brothels and a few restaurants notable amongst the restaurants are Aygun, Mardin, and Asparva. Although all are likely to be out of the price range of the average student.
The town of Lefke is further inland and has little to recommend it other than its delightful greenery and abundant water supply, but this has a peculiar taste to it and has even been reported to turn hair orange. Although this is more likely to be due to an over liberal application of henna! To be on the safe side the water is probably best replaced by bottled water for everyday drinking purposes. The symbol of the town stands on a roundabout near the Ataturk monument: looking like a rusty hand grenade, upon further inspection and with even greater imagination one can just see that it is supposed to represent a rather misshapen orange, or is it a lemon! The buildings around the town look neglected except for the sole venue of entertainment Lefke Gardens Hotel which is a tastefully restored karavansaray offering a good standard of accommodation and equally good food.
Lefke has always been a Turkish Cypriot village; several of its citizens lost their lives during the inter-communal strife leading up to the Turkish Peace Operation of 1974. They are interred in a small well kept cemetery at the entrance to the village. The people of Lefke form a close knit community but are on the whole welcoming to foreigners. It is perhaps a point worth making that it would appear that little of the prosperity that the university claims to have brought to the area, has actually filtered back into the local community.
The standard of available student accommodation in the area ranges from
appalling to mediocre. The standard of accommodation is not necessarily
reflected in the price. Students can expect to pay $250 to $450 per
month for the most basic accommodation. Obviously students sharing accommodation
will pay proportionately less. An important warning- accommodation is no where
near adequate for the number of students arriving from Turkey, let alone those
arriving from elsewhere. Students are boarded out as far away as Girne, well
over an hour away on the university bus and where you will find rent prices
considerably higher. Students were even seen looking for accommodation as far
out as Ozankoy and Catalkoy!
The university offers limited dormitory accommodation. However, there have been disturbing reports of nasty incidents involving students from Turkey and students from elsewhere. For your own safety it is wise to avoid the on campus dormitory accommodation.
You should also be aware that it can get
cold in the winter months. Houses in Cyprus are poorly insulated and some form
of heating will certainly be required from November to March. Electricity is
expensive and unreliable; although hardly rocket science, the electric supply is
liable to long and persistent failure. This is an island wide problem, and
unless you have the luxury of a generator it would be unwise to rely on the
electricity supply. A further point worth making is that the supply, when
available is often unstable and can cause serious damage to computers and
anything containing integrated circuit chips.
Power surge protector plugs are a necessity.
The electricity supply company will not entertain claims for compensation for
damaged equipment even if they are at fault. Vintage Valve/tube
equipment seems to be more tolerant of the fluctuating current!! Bottled gas is
an alternative form of heating but this is not cheap and gives off an unpleasant
odor. Paraffin/Kerosene is available from most garages and is probably the
cheapest form of heating available.
The cost of living on the whole is approaching European prices and in some cases exceeding them. Gone are the days when you could live cheaply there. However, Northern Cyprus is still cheaper than South Cyprus in most respects with prices in the supermarkets around Lefke about the same as elsewhere in Northern Cyprus.
EUL has boasted connections with a number of UK universities. However, these connections, collaborations, and letters of intent need to be checked out very carefully as they may not be what they at first seem to be (see Times Higher Education Supplement “Students ‘promised’ a UK future” published 27th August 2004- Click on the Links below. Another thing that any international student considering a combined EUL partner university course is whether you will be able to meet the stringent academic, linguistic, visa, and financial regulations for study in the UK. Our guess is that very few students attending EUL would; statements like “we have special arrangements with the UK government” or “We can always find a way round the regulations” or that old chestnut “I have a friend in the British High Commission who sorts this out” should be treated for what they are, nonsense! Information about visa requirements should be obtained from the British Embassy/High Commission. You should also consider checking the individual UK university website for its foreign student language requirements. This will help you gauge your own ability against their requirements.
In conclusion, this university in our opinion is unlikely to meet the needs of the serious international student. It has a poor reputation, sets low standards which it then fails to achieve, is isolated, and is constantly the subject of political intrigues and more recently covert and overt racism. The situation shows no sign of improving and infact shows all the signs of getting worse. For the Turkish student, this might be the place to go to avoid the inevitable military conscription for a few more years but as a place of research, study, personal and academic development the EUL has little to offer.
For further information your attention is drawn to the following articles
-
THE TIMES HIGHER EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT 24th AUGUST 2004.
“Students ‘promised’ UK future” by David Jobbins and Tabitha Morgan Published: 27th August 2004 Education news & resources at the Times Higher Education Supplement 2 (requires free registration to view article)
-
THE TIMES HIGHER EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT 24th AUGUST 2004
“An inadequate library, a poor reputation and a lack of cash” by Tabitha Morgan, Published 27th August 2004 Education news & resources at the Times Higher Education Supplement 1 (requires free registration to view article)
-
ESL CAFÉ, JOB INFORMATION JOURNAL 25th APRIL 2004
“European University of Lefke/SOAS. Not a place to even think about” by Palachec. ESL Cafe's Job Information Journal European University of Lefke/SOAS
Two responses to the posting above are linked here: 1. ESL Cafe's Job Information Journal My time in North Cyprus
2. ESL Cafe's Job Information Journal 15 years in country and counting...
-
ESL CAFÉ JOB INFORMATION JOURNAL 24th May 2004.
“Lefke European University, North Cyprus”. By Paul Robinson . ESL Cafe's Job Information Journal Lefke European University, North Cyprus.
SOAS/EUL (London) Foundation- Located at EUL.
2006 Update
The SOAS/EUL agreement ended in June 2005. SOAS has demanded that all references to their University be removed from EUL's web site, buildings, and promotional material. SOAS does not have an agreement with any other university in Northern Cyprus at the present time.
SOAS/EUL - 'The old story' 2005
Seemed like a good idea at the time but has failed to attract more than three students in its two year history. Based in Lefkosa, the course, in theory provides a SOAS education without London prices. However, and not surprisingly, the course has struggled along with little investment, organization or enthusiasm from its parent university the European University of Lefke.
Having said that, the course provides quality education to the privilege few. That this education is heavily subsidized by the long suffering students of EUL appears not to prick the conscience of the administrators in Cyprus or London one iota. The SOAS course is, as far as we are aware, taught entirely in English.
It is odd that SOAS picked EUL as its partner in this project when out of the five universities running here; EUL is the least promising of the lot.
Translated from a German text document 13/2/05