Greek Universities

Emergency and prudent funding that will take inflationary trends into account, and immediate aid for universities that have delinquent debt, would be a step in the right direction.

If the current reform bill fails, completely or partially, it must be corrected without ideological fixations or political grudges.

The toil and passion of those who really do their work at universities co-exist with a sense of resignation because of the violent behaviour and the destruction wrought by troublemakers.

Over three months ago a report in Ta Nea revealed that one of the government’s basic pre-electoral pledges, the establishment of university policing forces, would be postponed.

Certainly we are in the midst of a pandemic that poses a great challenge, but based on the data presented in a report in Ta Nea today one can safely surmise that there is a pressing need to upgrade tertiary education.

The government has not implemented any of the university security measures that have been discussed such as the establishment of a campus police force or the mandatory display of an ID in order to enter university campuses and buildings.

University students see their physical safety threatened by certain people who want to replace free will with fear and to replace the free exchange of knowledge and ideas with their aims and fixations.

Universities belong solely to the academic community which has the right to work and learn in secure conditions, which ensure academic freedom.

One in five university degree holders are unemployed whereas the average in Europe is one in 20.

These are students whose families do not have the economic means to rent an apartment for their child who must thus reside in a downgraded dormitory.

The conditions in university dormitories which Ta Nea revealed in a report today can only evoke sadness.

According to the OECD, Greece has one of the most centralised educational systems in the world, and that is reflected at all levels of the system.

Our professors and students will build the universities of the 21st century. In this effort, the state cannot but support them.

The focus on rote learning is the greatest disadvantage of the current admissions system. However, it also has one major advantage – its unimpeachablity.

The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki 'demands the protection of the state from incidents of violence and lawlessness'.

There can be no academic freedom when there is fear of various groups and other minorities, which are wont to terrorise and use violence against whomever does not agree with them.