The non-profit research organisation CARDET, in collaboration with the consultancy firm INNOVADE LI, launched the project Provision of Evaluation Services for the continuous assessment and final evaluation of the “Programme against early school leaving, school failure, and delinquency in Education Priority Zones”, which was awarded by the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture (MOEC). The primary objective of the project is to evaluate whether the following goals set out for these Zones are fulfilled:

• Reduction of early school leaving
• Reduction of school failure
• Reduction of delinquency
• Strengthening of social cohesion by reducing social marginalization and exclusion

The project was launched in October of 2012 and will have a total duration of 3 years. In the framework of the project, various evaluation and assessment actions will be completed through the implementation of scientifically-bound methodologies and data collection tools, such as questionnaires, focus groups, interviews guides, and indicators. In total, more than 3500 people will participate in the project, including students, teachers, parents, and MOEC officers. It should also be noted that the scientific research team will visit and collect data from all the schools that belong to the Education Priority Zones.

In the framework of this project, the consortium of partners expects to develop and deliver the following:

• a set of indicators for extracting results and analysing the effects of the various completed actions,
• a list of factors that affect the success or failure of project-implemented actions,
• a collection of good and bad practices in the field,
• a set of recommendations for the improvement of the Education Priority Zones in Cyprus, and
• a research report with data analysis, research findings, and conclusions.