Private universities in Greece, education and democracy

Last March 8, the Greek parliament approved a law that enables the creation of private universities: a provision that divides the country, bringing the right to education and democracy back under the spotlight

A few hours before the passing of the law on private, non-profit universities, thousands of people from all over the country had gathered in Syntagma Square, right opposite the Parliament building, to protest against the ambiguous bill under the motto “free education for all”.

Students from different cities, teachers’ associations and unions participated in a large rally that paralysed the capital of Greece after 11 weeks of ongoing protests in Athens and other ‘student cities’, like Thessaloniki and Larissa.

Despite the strong opposition, the 158 MP-strong ruling New Democracy party voted en-bloc in favour of the bill, with another vote coming from an independent MP, H. Katsivardas, who brought the total votes in favour to 159.

The main left-wing opposition party, SYRIZA, voted against. A similar stance was followed by the centre-left social democrat PASOK party, which has not opposed the bill in principle, but has reminded that article 16 of the Greek constitution bans private universities.

Public and private education in Greece: a story of unmet expectations

Greece is the only European country that bans private higher education. The Greek equivalent, although inferior in terms of recognition and validation, is the ‘Private College’, which provides post-secondary courses in cooperation with recognised European universities and leads to a bachelor’s degree in 3 years (instead of 4 as in public universities).

Although many colleges have made noteworthy efforts to upgrade the educational services provided, either by recruiting experienced academic staff or by providing high quality facilities and opportunities, unfortunately, they have not managed to shake their reputation as overpriced institutions meant for ‘rich kids’ or ‘low-performing’ students who did not manage to pass the national exams to enter university.

Just like the recognition of college degrees under a 2020 law had met wide controversy, today there are similar reasons to oppose private, non-profit universities: increasing competition in an already small and saturated labour market, degradation of public university degrees, social injustice caused by the dominance of a socioeconomic elite that can ‘buy and sell’ degrees, marginalisation of underprivileged students and gradual decline of peripheral state universities, many of which are already understaffed and deprived of basic funds.

Many would agree that the public educational system in Greece has been for years now in dire straits, due to several and complex factors, among which the gradual decrease in state funding, especially from the years of the financial crisis and on; the frequent occupations of university spaces resulting in the loss of classes and exam sessions; ongoing nepotism; and, certainly, rooted corruption and favoritism, strongly intertwined with internal university interests and party politics.

There are fears that foreign private university investments will turn into a ‘franchise business’ that will further accentuate the bad deeds of the public university arena and create a two-gear educational system defined by wealth, power and ideology.

To these concerns, the New Democracy party answers by promising a merit-based system of assuring excellent services, in synergy with – and not in contradiction to – state-run universities.

The government also cites the pros of socioeconomic growth and innovation that can come with new investments in the country and the prevention or even reversal of the massive brain drain that has been scourging Greece for years.

Article 16 of the Greek constitution

Those opposing the law as ‘anti-constitutional’ cite article 16 on ‘education, arts, and science’, which enshrines education as a public good and ‘the main mission of the State’, granting ‘all Greek citizens the right to free education, at all levels, at state universities’. Its 8^th paragraph clearly states that ‘the establishment of higher education institutions by private actors is prohibited’.

While part of the Greek pedagogical community has been protesting for the past few months, either by blocking central streets on a weekly basis or debating on the media, some scholars had voiced different views in the past. In a 2002 paper, George Psacharopoulos had warned over the ‘social cost’ of restricting an ‘insatiable demand for education’, thus encouraging the exodus of students abroad.

In 2018, a group of Greek academics had signed an open letter urging Greece’s then left-wing government to review article 16, citing the article’s alleged inconsistency with the current ‘educational, social and cultural needs’ of the Greek people and ‘a question of democracy’.

For part of the population, the passing of the law is a victory that can lead to a much needed educational reform, but opponents have pledged to continue their efforts to challenge the law.

The Greek government should do its best to ensure that the implementation of the new law will be fully aligned with existing European Union regulations and that measures will be taken, in forms of scholarships and other support schemes, to ensure merit-based access to students, especially those that are financially challenged.