Changes to education are essential
The draft law for reforms to the tertiary education system that was unveiled recently represents a valuable and well-considered effort to modernize Greek universities.
Unfortunately, these plans, like all others in the same vein, are being resisted by a group of university deans who have been elected through an entangled relationship with student bodies attached to political parties and unions, as well as an alliance of vested interests that want to preserve the perverse status quo in tertiary education because they don?t want to give up the power or benefits they have gained from it.
The government must persist with its plans and the main opposition should support it because this is an ultimate opportunity to radically change the ailing education system.
The Greek people pay a great deal of money for the education of their children and they expect universities that are competitive, that act on meritocracy and that collaborate with foreign institutions. These reform measures will go a long way toward ensuring these benefits, and should not be torpedoed.
