The state and its government must offer equal opportunities in health care, education and public safety, President Nikos Christodoulides said at a Limassol primary school.
The president on Monday welcomed the upgraded sports facilities at the Ayiou Panteleimo primary school, stating it has become shining example of what all schools can become.
He then took part in a basketball game.
“If the government does not provide equal opportunities in these three sectors, for all its citizens, then there is no reason for the state to exist,” Christodoulides said.
Most other matters can be handled by the free market, he said.
“The biggest investment for a state which wishes to move forward is in education and training,” the president added, emphasising that what children learn today determines the country’s course in the decades ahead.
The president further described the upgraded primary school as an example of what can be achieved through local authorities being more autonomous.
He said more schools will be able to achieve such results through the local government reforms with communities achieving greater administrative autonomy.