For non -state universities, Following the CoE decision To give the “green light” for their installation and operation in the country, Deputy Minister of Education Nikos Papaioannou spoke primarily on ERTnews “Newsroom”.
“We have a historical decision of the Council of State, which confirms in the most emphatic way the reformist policy of the New Democracy government, the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis. (…) 12 folders have been filed, 12 proposals from non -state universities that are in the evaluation process. The evaluation of the files of these institutions will be done by the Independent National Higher Education Authority and EOPEPP.
So 12 universities are evaluated to see if they can get the “green light”. This will evaluate both the institution that wants to be installed and the curricula, “the Deputy Minister of Education explained.
“Early October begins the operation of non -state universities,” Mr Papaioannou then announced and added: decisions should be taken in the immediate period. If one, for example, wants to start studying at a non -state university on October 1st, one should know in advance where this institution is located and has been able to register. It’s a matter of planning. The law is clear: By the end of July, the RAE (Higher Education Regulatory Authority) recommendation will be submitted.
Immediately afterwards, the evaluation of the curricula will follow. I believe that all the institutions receive the “green light” for their operation will have the necessary specifications. There are decades -long organizations that can make a significant contribution. There are also encouraging messages from abroad about the possibility of student collaborations and exchanges.
Mr Papaioannou even pointed out that he considers very likely that there will be branches of foreign universities in Greece. “You realize that the cost of living in Greece is much lower than other European countries. This gives an advantage. We can attract more foreign students. Combined with the extroversion and internationalization of Greek public universities, but also with the presence of foreign parent universities in our country, Greece can evolve into a major academic hub – perhaps the largest in Eastern Europe. “
The conditions for admission to non -state universities, the Deputy Minister of Education said: ‘The basic requirement is to have given nationwide exams. Even if you have not gone to a public university, you must have taken the exams to have the minimum introduction base (EBE) for the field of interest. For example, if you want to go to Law, you must have given the corresponding field. No one who has given exams for mathematics simply state that he wants to be written in Law. “
In the fires of the opposition, Mr. Papaioannou replied: “The opposition remains stuck in the ideologies and ideological anchors of the past. Obviously colleges do not become universities. The colleges were operating so far, had no supervision and did not belong to the coordinated higher education.
(…) So what do these positions and opinions do? They want to create, keep a blur in all this reform effort, which I think is something that is very important for higher education. “
The Deputy Minister of Education subsequently clarified that “no faculty member of the Greek Public University can also teach at the non -state universities at the same time. Secondly, it is obvious that all those of us who serve the Greek State University do not only do it for economic reasons. It is our love for education, our love for research, we have given our blood and our lives to reach the Greek public university so high in international rankings.
(…) All of these institutions will operate with resources and capabilities – and these are what are being considered in the files – with their own financial capabilities. “