The Greek Parliament approved of the education reform introduced by Minister of Education, Nikos Filis, amid great opposition by political opponents and education stakeholders. Among the most vocal opponents of the reforms is the Association of Private Schools (SIS) describing the day that the new law was voted as a “black day for Greek education,” insisting that all it will do is prevent the evaluation of teachers and lower standards.
The new law makes it difficult for private schools to fire teachers, a move that has been backed by the Federation of Private School Teachers (OIELE) as a way to safeguard their rights and their jobs. According to Nikos Filis, the existing education system is powered by private enterprise and the principle that schools can sack teachers at will.
“The amendment by Filis is not coming to sort out a regime of undeclared labor that he and his friends at OIELE claim exists at private schools,” the association stated, noting that recent audits by labor inspectors have cleared private schools from suspicions of misconduct.
Accusing the Syriza government of attempts to ‘sovietize’ education, the association said that OIELE aims to “ban private education” and the recent amendments will be a step in this direction, equating private and public schools, thus transferring “the problems of state-run education to private schools”.The law also prevents private schools from offering additional private tutoring classes to their students.
Other amendments include the overhaul of the way religion is taught in schools: “It will not be a confessional or catechistic course, but a lesson in all religions, including the Orthodox,” Nikos Filis said, noting that multiculturism is beginning to define Greece.
As far as tertiary education is concerned, the new law forbids schools from expelling students from further attendance if they fail to register for two semesters running. Critics have slammed the idea as it would revive the concept of so-called “eternal students” – which refers to students who took years complete their university courses.