BY Soni Daniel, Regional Editor, North

Barely four months after 67 ex-militants were withdrawn from Intercollege Larnaca, Cyprus, the university has fired back at the Amnesty Office in Nigeria, claiming that it was qualified to offer professional training for the ex-combatants and reintegrate them into normal life.

The university denied allegation by the Amnesty Office that it withdrew the students because the college was not accredited by relevant professional bodies to offer appropriate courses to the former militants.

The institution said in a letter sent to Vanguard, yesterday, that it was wrong for the Amnesty Office in Nigeria to claim that the students were withdrawn because the institution was not accredited to offer relevant courses for which the students were admitted.

The letter, by its Director, Dr. Nicos Nicolaou, said that Intercollege was duly accredited by relevant educational bodies in Europe to train students from diploma to postgraduate programmes.

Nicolaou explained that the Niger Delta students were admitted for a programme run by a partner, United Kingdom Agency, which would require them to complete their  training in a UK institution after paying additional fees of about a thousand pounds each.

The university said Intercollege is one of the best schools in the region and had been recognised and honoured by many global educational bodies.

It said: “We are an organisation with four campuses, the leading indepdendent tertiary education provider in Cyprus, the result of solid and systematic work by all, administration, faculty and staff, as well as the total contribution of the institution to tertiary institution not only in Cyprus but also in the region.”