Education minister dispels accusations of underfunding state universities
Education Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis in parliament on Thursday refuted allegations of government underfunding and downgrading state universities to favor private education.
Addressing the assembly regarding the ministry’s draft bill on vocational education and training, Pierrakakis asserted that this reform is the inaugural step in a series of forthcoming changes. He criticized dissenting voices for their opposition to reforming higher education, dismissing claims of reduced funding for state universities as baseless.
“The numbers speak for themselves,” Pierrakakis declared. He cited that in 2018, state universities in Greece received 92 million euros through the regular budget, which rose to over 133 million euros last year, indicating a significant increase of 41 million euros.
In addition to funds from the regular budget, Pierrakakis highlighted that when considering contributions from other sources, the total funding for state universities exceeded one billion euros. While acknowledging the need for further increases in funding, he refuted claims of reduction, stating, “To assert that funding is decreasing when it has consistently risen is nothing but misinformation.”
