Greek Education System

They want to build a future and keep coming up against obstacles – distrustful employers, a state that does not help, and patronage networks comprised of acquaintances, family, and connections

No one would quarrel with the upgrading of Greece state schools, as long as successive governments do not use it to serve partisan objectives.

The decision on whether to re-open primary schools has been deferred until 1 June. There are conflicting opinions about how advisable this is.

Schools are unable to take educational initiatives due to a suffocating surveillance and the requirement that centrally drafted curriculums be strictly adhered to.

It is sad to think that despite the fact that the Education Minister Gavroglu has taught as a university professor in Greece he has learned nothing about the problems that have beset Greek universities.

Opposition parties charge that that the education ministry bill is full of political favours and comes in an electoral period. New Democracy says it will rescind the law if elected.

With great audacity the minister without even a basic dialogue tabled in Parliament a 1,120-page draft bill that is full of vote-mongering provisions.

It has been said that universities should not be linked with the market. Must they be linked with unemployment? Should faculties that are already over-packed mushroom further and offer degrees with no value in the market?

Much has been said and written about the problems with the education system and that debate is necessary in order to improve it. The time has now come to hold a public debate on how to address the conditions in Greek prisons.

Can an educational system be in tune with contemporary realities and prepare young people for the future when 80 percent of its budget is spent on salaries?

The state tolerates the operation of various colleges, the graduates of which are recognised as professionally equal to those of state universities, but it refuses to allow the creation of non-state universities.

One needs a contemporary university that can meet the challenges of the 21st century, a university with open horizons that serves the needs of contemporary  youth.

The government is vote-mongering with piecemeal changes without planning simply in order to hire thousands of teachers.

University and school students did their “revolutionary” duty by protesting with ideological constructs that are the remnants of what they view as the old, glorious era of the student movement, when it was fighting against the intensification of studies.