Exam grades plummet
As it emerged yesterday that candidates who sat the university and technical college entrance examinations this year had got particularly bad marks, Education Minister Anna Diamantopoulou sought to strike a reassuring stance, declaring that a rehaul of the education sector would include an attempt to impose greater discipline on high school students. The results of the entrance examinations taken by thousands of high school students seeking a place in the country’s tertiary education system revealed a significant deterioration since last year. The worst-performing candidate for entrance to a technical college (TEI) managed to secure a place with a score of less than 5 percent, while the worst performance among candidates for entrance to a Greek university (AEI) was a score of 11.5 percent. The low scores were seen by some as an embarrassment for the government, which earlier this year passed a law abolishing legislation that had required students to get at least 10 out of 20 on their examinations in order to secure a place at a Greek university or technical college. The new law reverts to an old system according to which a minimum grade is not required and all available places at tertiary institutions end up being filled. Diamantopoulou yesterday sought to put a good spin on the bad news, saying it was the start of a long period of fundamental changes. «We are pushing through deep-reaching and wide-ranging reforms,» she said, noting that the proposed rehaul of the higher education system had been discussed by the Cabinet already this week and would be put up for public consultation next month. Among the reforms on the cards are compulsory examinations for high school leavers. In an article appearing in today’s Kathimerini, Marietta Giannakou – Diamantopoulou’s conservative predecessor who in 2006 introduced the 50 percent pass rate law abolished by PASOK earlier this year – sarcastically dismissed the current government’s attempt to play down the bad exam marks. «Even those who didn’t sit the exams nearly got a place at university,» the former minister remarked.
