Crafty moves in education
More nasty surprises are apparently in store for us on the education reform front. Coming swift on the heels of changes to the university entrance examination requirements, we are now faced with a draft law submitted to Parliament by Education Minister Anna Diamantopoulou by which private educational institutions will be forced to select all teaching staff from among those that have passed the examinations of the Supreme Council for Civil Personnel Selection (ASEP), which is responsible for hirings in the state sector. By what stretch of reason does the state believe that it can impose its standards and criteria on private institutions when it comes to hiring staff? The draft law is completely ludicrous and ought to be withdrawn instantly. The only conclusion we can draw from this decision is that the Ministry of Education is trying to dictate government policy to a very crucial sector in a way that allows it to both satisfy the demands of the teachers’ union while at the same time shying away from any truly meaningful reform.
