Representatives of the country’s European and international creditors, known as Troika, have pressed Greek authorities to make necessary arrangements to fully recognize degrees granted by private colleges operating as franchises of foreign universities in Greece within the framework of a general plan to liberalize the country’s higher education sector.
Although the Education Ministry has technically recognized the operation of private colleges long ago, the degrees granted by these institutions still do not enjoy equal status to those issued by Greek universities.
Opinions on the issue remain conflicting, as many academic representatives express the view that it is unfair to equalize a state university degree with that of a private college. First of all, the applicants have to pass a large-scale examination and prove their worthiness among thousands of pupils, and secondly they just have to be able to afford it, as many tend to believe. Others say it is unfair that people study for four years in private colleges and then have to go through a series of new exams to prove their value and knowledge. In fact many people believe that private colleges offer more specialized and methodical education than state universities which often suffer from lack of organization, staff shortages, and other resources.
Troika wants to reverse the fact that college graduates who want to sit on examinations for state positions must first undergo other tests to ensure that their degree is “equal” to one from a Greek state university.
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