Why yet another university?
As the quality of the education received at the country’s universities drops with each year that goes by, the government has decided upon a policy that was popular under opposition PASOK rule, which is scattering universities all over Greece. The government’s announcement that it will be opening the country’s 23rd university (without having first ensured the adequate operation of the other 22) came as a surprise because, when New Democracy was in opposition, it had rightly condemned such policies in no uncertain terms. The government’s so-called «vision for the local community of Aitoloacarnania» is a worthy one, just as the amount of an anticipated 17 million euros that students will be spending on boosting the local economy is also of note. Universities, however, are not built to fulfill the hopes of a local community nor to help out the owners of cafes and apartments for rent – however many votes these may amount to. The vision that the government should be focusing on is the essential reform of public tertiary education and this cannot be achieved by knee-jerk policies.
