Government unveils controversial Private Universities Bill

The government in Greece on Wednesday unveiled a bill that will allow the operation of private universities in the country. Education Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis said that private universities will have strict foundation criteria while students must have reached the minimum entry level in the national examinations or hold an International Baccalaureate, writes Tasos Kokkinidis for the Greek Reporter.

The law, which was put to public consultation on Wednesday 7 February, also includes many provisions concerning public institutions of higher education, including increased funding and the promotion of a more international profile. “This is a bill that represents a historic step forward for higher education and the country at large,” Pierrakakis said while presenting the law, which has been stirring up opposition from a section of students and academics for two months.

Pierrakakis stressed the government’s emphasis on the need to institutionalise non-state universities, citing the fact that over 40,000 Greek students study overseas. The majority of them (18,000) live in Cyprus, where higher education has grown dramatically in recent years, with Greek students accounting for 40% of all students in the country.
Full report on the Greek Reporter site