Education minister does not rule out changes to university plan
Education Minister Constantinos Arvanitopoulos said on Wednesday that he was open to amending a proposed scheme for streamlining the country’s higher education system which has been the focus of vehement criticism by academics and some politicians.
Arvanitopoulos called on directors of universities and technical colleges to submit proposed changes and also encouraged them to seek private sponsorship and create English-language departments in order to attract paying students from abroad and raise further funding.
The minister said that some of the planned transfers of university and technical college faculties to other university campuses – a proposal which has created upheaval for students and academics alike – would be suspended.
The aim of the overhaul, dubbed Athena, is to allow a larger number of students to enter popular faculties while abolishing underperforming departments to cut back on state spending.
