I was young and grew old reading and discussing the necessary intersections for university education, which has been languishing for years. The problem, in my opinion, is that while all the current Ministers of Education wanted and no doubt tried to find solutions with repeated bills, they faced various reactions with the result that many articles of bills, which were really beneficial for education, were not implemented either by the very governments that voted for them. The constant iterations of bills with minor variations never led to the desired result.
The same phenomenon is repeated with her discussed bill Minister Mr. N. Kerameos. Objectively, this bill has positive regulations for higher education, but some are repetitions of the past, without giving the possibility of their application again. I believe, therefore, that there should finally be a serious discussion between the parties in consultation with the different Greek Universities, which will result in specific points of agreement, which should be implemented by whichever party is in government. Education concerns the young generation of our country, and the consent of the elders is necessary for the acceptance on the part of the young, of those changes, which may be considered excessive and useless due to ignorance of age, but will be appreciated later, when the necessity of their enforcement.
The massive bill of the Ministry of Education includes changes as well as innovations for the modernization and internationalization of Universities. Among the positive changes should be mentioned the abolition of the recognition of study titles by DOATAP and the creation of a National Register of Recognized Institutions, as well as the internal mobility (Erasmus) of students between similar or different study programs of Greek Universities for one academic semester, with the possibility of basic but also a second degree with distinct titles. Also positive are the remunerative scholarships based on excellence and social criteria, as well as the establishment of 7-semester applied science and technology programs with internships at Universities, in the form of TEIs, which existed before, but was not implemented. This regulation can be a temporary solution for the separation of Technological Education within Universities, which should be seriously addressed with a special bill. What is necessary, moreover, is the strengthening of the human resources of the HEIs, as provided by the bill, as well as the strengthening of the income of the members of the Academic Community.
The two main issues for the administration and operation of HEIs, the Council of Administration (SC), the abolition of student factions and a single ballot in the elections of student representatives in university bodies, have already been addressed by state law since 2011 and they revert to the new bill. The institution of S.D. it has been tried in the past and failed, while it could, with structural changes that would harmonize with the strategy of the Greek HEIs, be implemented in our country as well, as it also happens abroad. On the contrary, however, the arrangements proposed in the bill do not lead in this direction. The Rector's Council is abolished, and the S.D. it turns into a super-organ, which controls everything, without itself being controlled. At the same time, the Senate, the body that represents the academic community and effectively directs the Foundation, is downgraded and the rector and president of the SD. becomes controller and controlled. The result of these changes is to dangerously undermine the democracy of the procedures for the administration of HEIs.
Finally, I wonder why the debates and controversies about university security continue, when it is clear that this operation must be under the supervision of the University Authorities, as is the case in all European countries except Turkey. THE ELAS it intervenes only when necessary, as it is constitutionally not permissible for it to be permanently installed on university premises. Let's finally listen to the constitutionalists!
Let us hope that, finally, the consensus and the consistency of our policies will prevail in front of the important bill for the functioning of the Universities, in order to achieve the much-desired real and correct change in the Greek HEIs. They deserve it!
Prof. Stella Priovolou, president of the Body of Emeritus Professors of EKPA, former special secretary of the Ministry of Education
Published in VIMA of Sunday, 10/7/2022
photo https://pixabay.com/el/
