Cynics will not be surprised to learn that just one in 10 Greek universities and technical college departments have begun the process of internal evaluation that is now required of them by law.

Most Greeks though, those who help finance higher education with their taxes, want to know just how much they are getting for their euro. They need to know why Greek university degrees and college diplomas are constantly losing ground to degrees earned in other European institutions.

Employers, for their part, also want to know what kind of education their prospective employees have received before they recruit them.

All these people are not concerned with the precarious balances that have been struck within the university machine, nor are they interested if these balances are upset. And, therefore, they insist that the evaluation process should begin swiftly in every department throughout the country.

The Education Ministry, which holds both the carrot and the stick, is the one that must enforce the law.