At a special meeting of the Standing Committee on Education Affairs, convened by the President of the Commission, Samos MP, Professor Christodoulos Stefanadison “Hellenic Higher Education, present situation and future prospects”, the Chairman of the National Committee on Higher Education (ETHAE) Professor Pericles Mitkas (In the photo with President Chr. Stefanadis), he presented in detail with elements of the country’s Higher Education on the educational, post -education and research work that is being carried out and referred to the future prospects.
Deputy Minister of Education, responsible for higher education Nikos Papaioannoupresented the development of universities, the increase in funding and the legislative interventions planned by the Ministry in terms of the better functioning of HEIs. Today, at the HEIs of the country, about 68,000 undergraduate students attend and there are 1307 postgraduate programs, of which the vast majority (97.70%) have international quality certification.
In 16 Greek universities, 188 Foreign Language Postgraduate Programs operate, in collaboration with foreign universities. It is also important that 7 Greek universities have applied for undergraduate branches in foreign countries (eg the oldest Greek University, the EKPA, which has been established 188 years ago, intends to operate an annex in Cyprus). Relations with the operation of foreign universities in our country, 12 have been submitted. Applications are examined by the ETHAE on strict criteria to ensure the quality of the education provided and to monitor continuous control of the curriculum. The prospect is, if certified, some will work with the new academic year.
The future challenges of our Higher Education concern the internationalization, the obligation of living education, the use of artificial intelligence, the demographic problem of the country (which also affects students’ reduction), the interconnection with the labor market, and the orientation of research in Greece. Finally, with regard to the operational issues of HEIs, the government intends, in addition to increasing funding, to make corrective legislative interventions. During the committee’s special meeting, representatives of the political factions developed their views and positions and asked questions to the Deputy Minister and the President of the ETHAE.