The Pancyprian examinations, which Cypriot high school leavers take to gain access to public universities in Cyprus and Greece, got underway on Friday.

In total, exactly 5,119 people are sitting the examinations this year.

The first exam to be sat is Modern Greek, with the English exam set to take place on Monday. The final exam, common core mathematics, will take place on June 26.

Other exam subjects include physics, biology, economics, Latin, Ancient Greek, and Russian.

This year’s exams will be the first in which all pupils will be able to sit them in air-conditioned rooms, with President Nikos Christodoulides having highlighted the milestone on Wednesday.

“All Pancyprian exam candidates will sit their examinations in air-conditioned rooms. We have achieved this goal. 5,119 candidates will finally be examined in conditions befitting a modern European state,” he said.

On Friday morning, the education ministry’s permanent secretary George Panteli visited the Archbishop Makarios high school in the Limassol suburb of Dasoupoli to wish those taking the exams good luck.

“These exams are not only goal goal they should have, but the path must be paved for them, and they must achieve their goals with morals and with strength,” he said.

He also stressed that this year’s exams are “neither more difficult nor easier than other years”.

“We have taken measures to ensure there are no difficulties regarding the level of difficulty of the exams,” he said.