Wanted: A man for the job
Education Minister Constantinos Arvanitopoulos carries much of the blame for the ongoing impasse dogging Greece’s university institutions. His handling of the so-called mobility scheme, which foresees hundreds of administrative staff being reappointed to other public sector posts or fired, leaves a lot to be desired.
After the institutions had been shut down by protesting staff, amid much ado, Arvanitopoulos came up with various compromise solutions that bordered on the ridiculous. On top of that, he is now trying to bend the rules so that students will not miss the semester.
It is embarrassing to watch Arvanitopoulos do away with the fundamental provisions of the university law that Parliament overwhelmingly voted in favor of. His credibility is next to zero and Prime Minister Antonis Samaras would be better off replacing him with a prestigious figure who is capable of pulling Greek universities out of the deadlock and the frustrated professors and students out of their misery.
