Are education talks doomed to failure?
Those who doubt whether the government will actually make the fall deadline the government has set for implementing reforms in the education sector are quite on the mark. Even the title of the proposed changes, «Draft proposal for changes to the institutional framework for the infrastructure and operation of universities,» makes it clear this fall is an unrealistic target. It is neither a plan for change nor a proposal, but a «draft proposal,» which suggests that we have a long way to go before we actually get to the draft legislation itself. As for dialogue, it is only right that we have a period of debate prior to any reforms on the condition that the various interested parties are speaking the same language. There can be no dialogue when one side wants to discuss the current problems and the other is dreaming of an ideal future; and unfortunately such deadlocks always develop ahead of reforms. In this case, one side is insisting that universities cannot be upgraded unless a system of evaluation is introduced while the other protests the evils of capitalism and globalization. Even if we agree that capitalism is the supreme evil on earth and that globalization is a curse on mankind, how does that help the graduates of Panteion University get a job other than delivering pizzas? How can a debate bear fruit if one side is talking about university courses and the other ranting about socialism? No proposal can be analyzed in detail if one side of the negotiating table has a problem with the system in general.
