Education reform bill ready to be put before MPs
A bill containing changes to the education system that have divided the academic community and Parliament may be tabled in the House as early as Thursday, Kathimerini understands.
Sources said that Education Minister Aristides Baltas is prepared to table the bill after a period of public consultation during which voters made more than 6,000 comments regarding the controversial draft legislation.
The bill seeks to roll back some of the education reforms passed in recent years, such as scrapping limits to the number of years students can take to complete their university degrees.
According to the changes planned by Baltas, students will play a greater role in electing university officials. University councils, which include foreign academics and Greek academics from abroad, are also due to be scrapped. They were formed as part of the tertiary education reform passed in 2011 with the aim of providing more independent oversight in the running of the institutions.
Many of the reforms are opposed by New Democracy, To Potami and PASOK, which have asked for the government to consult with them over the bill’s content. A large number of academics have also voiced their objection to the draft legislation.
Sources told Kathimerini that the government may be willing to compromise on some of the would-be law’s provisions.
