During a speech in the Greek Parliament on Monday, the Greek Education Minister stated that the government is attempting to create a system which will allow students to attend universities without having to pass entrance exams after receiving their high school diplomas.
The Greek university entrance tests are known today as ”Panhellenic Examinations”.
Minister Kostas Gavroglou called today’s third class in Greek high schools a ”ghost-class,” saying many students today study only for the subjects in which they will be examined, in order to gain access to higher education.
He believes this leads to a general shallow understanding of many subjects, and society as a whole is responsible for this development.
The minister also said that the government is trying to improve the value of high school diplomas by reducing the number of the subjects taught, and at the same time increasing the hours spent teaching the remaining subjects.
This effort, he said, will eventually allow entrance to higher education only by the earning of a Greek high school diploma, eliminating any need for further examinations.
Gavroglou also praised the government’s promise to hire more teachers over the next three years and the recent kindergarten reforms, where two-year-attendance has now been made compulsory. This brings more children into the public education system, and has the added benefit of providing new jobs for thousands of educators.
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