University faculties to be slashed
There will be no delay in the government’s plans to reduce the number of university departments from the next academic year even though some academics have asked for a 12-month extension, Education Minister Constantinos Arvanitopoulos told Sunday’s Kathimerini.
Arvanitopoulos said that from September, the number of faculties would be reduced from about 500 to some 350. However, he insisted that this would not lead to fewer students being accepted. Just over 80,000 were admitted following exams this summer.
“The mergers and closing down of departments will be carried out using scientific, operational and growth criteria,” he said, adding that there would no longer be faculties that would lead students “straight to unemployment.”
