After the decision of the State Council to give the “green light” for their establishment and operation in the country, the Deputy Minister of Education, Nikos Papaioannou spoke, among others, this morning.

“We have a historic decision of the Council of State, which confirms most emphatically the reform policy of the government of New Democracy, the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis. (…) 12 dossiers have been submitted, 12 proposals from non-state universities that are in the evaluation process. The evaluation of the dossiers of these institutions will be carried out by the Independent National Authority for Higher Education and by the EOPPEP.

So 12 universities are being evaluated to see if they can get the green light. So both the institution that wants to be established and the curricula will be evaluated,” the Deputy Minister of Education explained.

“The operation of non-state universities will begin at the beginning of October,” Papaioannou then disclosed, adding: Shortly, decisions will have to be taken. If someone, for example, wants to start studying at a non-state university on October 1, he/she should know in advance where this institution is located and should have registered in advance. It is a matter of planning. The law is clear: By the end of July, the recommendation of the RAE (Higher Education Regulatory Authority) will have been submitted regarding the institutions.

The Greek regulator, the Institute of Higher Education, will be required to approve the proposal for the establishment of a new institution of higher education.
Immediately afterwards, the evaluation of the curricula will follow. I believe that those institutions that are given the green light to operate will have the necessary standards. There are also institutions with decades of experience, which can contribute significantly. There are also encouraging messages from abroad about the possibility of cooperation and student exchanges.

Papaioannou even pointed out that he considers it very likely that there will be branches of foreign universities in Greece. “You realize that the cost of living in Greece is much lower compared to other European countries. This gives an advantage. We can attract more foreign students. Combined with the extroversion and internationalisation of Greek public universities, and the presence of foreign parent universities in our country, Greece can become an important academic hub – perhaps the largest in Eastern Europe.”

On the requirements for admission to non-state universities, the Deputy Minister of Education said: “The basic requirement is to have passed the national exams. Even if you have not passed in a public university, you must have taken the exams so that you have reached the Minimum Admission Base (MBE) for the field of study you are interested in. For example, if you want to go to law school, you must have passed the relevant field. A person who has taken the Mathematics exam cannot simply state that he or she wants to enroll in law.”

To the opposition’s fire, Papaioannou replied, “The opposition remains stuck in the ideologies and ideological rigidities of the past. Colleges do not become universities. Colleges have been functioning until now; they had no supervision and were not part of the coordinated higher education.

(…) Therefore, all these positions and opinions do what? They want to create, to keep a blur in this whole reform effort, which I think is something that is very, very important for Higher Education.”

The Deputy Minister of Education went on to clarify that “no faculty member of a Greek public university can simultaneously teach at non-state universities. Secondly, all of us who serve the Greek public university do not do so only for financial reasons. It is our love for education, our love for research, and we have given our blood and our lives so that the Greek Public University can reach so high in the international rankings.

(…) All these institutions will operate with resources and with capabilities – and this is what is being considered in the files – with their financial capabilities.”