GREECE: Students march over university reform

28 August 2011

Hundreds of Greek students protested outside parliament last week against a proposed shake-up of higher education that would introduce more competition into universities. Planned legislation would also curb the student role in university administration and set a four-year deadline for obtaining a degree, writes Kerin Hope for the Financial Times.

Members of Pame, a communist-led union, later staged a march to parliament after socialist MPs voted through the bill. "This was just a start," said Stefanos, a 29-year-old student of French literature. "When term begins we will seriously disrupt the university system."

Anna Diamantopoulou, the Education Minister, appealed for a parliamentary consensus to back the legislation, which is seen as a key step towards improving low academic standards that drive many Greeks to study abroad.
Full report on the Financial Times site

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