The exodus of Greece’s best and brightest and youngest is still continuing despite claims by the ruling Radical Left SYRIZA a recovery is coming, with academics and students looking to head to Greek-speaking Cyprus for work and school opportunities.

That was the finding of the Open University of Cyprus (OUC) which revealed the trend that began eight years ago when Greece first sought what turned into three bailouts of 326 billion euros ($394.73 billion) that brought harsh austerity measures, including big pay cuts, tax hikes, slashed pensions, worker firings and foreclosures.

With unemployment in Greece still the highest in the European Union, including hovering near the 50 percent mark for those under 25, many educated Greeks and students want to have prospects of a better life elsewhere.

The survey showed that someone with a doctorate could be recruited to work on Cyprus under a three-year contract to teach at OUC along with its 24 permanent staff, an opening that received 1,200 applications, 875 of which came from Greece.

“Many of them are researchers up to 40 years of age, looking for work at a time when competition in the Greek market is fierce,” Erato-Ioanna Sarri, who heads the International Relations, Development and Communications Unit at the OUC, told Kathimerini.

“There are also experienced teachers of Greek universities who want to increase their income,” she added.

The high demand for teaching positions at the OUC is also linked to the interest shown by Greek students in distance learning, it was said, as the island continues to lure Greeks who still want to be near their homeland while being able to earn a living or study.