Charity funding to help students vie in Olympiads
The Onassis Foundation has offered to step in and provide the money needed for Greek students to take part in academic competitions after the government said it would no longer be able to provide the 50,000 euros needed for the trips to take place.
The foundation has said it will provide the funds needed for students to take part in the so-called Olympiads this year. The offer comes in the wake of an outcry following the Education Ministry’s decision to stop funding for participation in these events.
The ministry’s general secretary, Dimitris Hasapis, issued a circular on Tuesday informing teachers and students that the government could no longer cover the cost of Greek participation “due to the cuts taking place as a result of the fiscal circumstances.” He suggested that participants seek funding from private sponsors.
The decision prompted criticism from the media and opposition parties, which have also slammed the government over its planned education reforms.
It also seems to have spurred some people to declare their willingness to help students continue to take part in the gatherings. “We even had regular citizens calling us up asking if they could donate money,” the secretary of the Greek Mathematical Society, Yiannis Tyrlis, told Kathimerini.
