OPINION

Keep politics out of school

A few years ago the Greek Parliament ratified a law for a complete overhaul of the tertiary education system with a solid majority of 255 votes from 300 MPs.

Since then, with the exception of Anna Diamantopoulou, no minister has implemented it in full or even defended its merits.

Now its complete demolition is being planned, and not because the new government really wants to modernize the country’s technical colleges and universities. Quite the opposite, in fact.

The new government wants to return the old status quo, where academics serving the interests of unions, parties and powerful student groups with strong political affiliations kept the system bogged down in mediocrity.

It would be a terrible mistake for the government to undermine the huge support the law received and to return the country’s universities to the Middle Ages. If the prime minister really wants to give young people hope, he should back the reforms instead of going back to the 1980s.

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