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EUROKINISSI / GIANNIS PANAGOPOULOS
The discussion and voting of the bill of the Ministry of Education for the National System of Education, Professional Training and Lifelong Learning was completed on Thursday night, in the Plenary of Parliament. Only ND deputies were in favor of the principle of the bill. while the Hellenic Solution declared itself “present” and the other opposition parties voted against it.
At the last minute, the Ministry of Education introduced an amendment on the recognition of professional qualifications and the professional equivalence of university degrees.
With this amendment, which was voted by a majority, the graduates of the colleges will have the same professional rights as the graduates of the Greek universities.
In particular, it provides:
- The Technical Chamber of Greece to register university graduates in order to practice the profession of Architect and Engineer.
- Register university graduates in the Economic Chamber of Greece to practice the profession of Economist and Tax Accountant.
- The rights to exercise the aforementioned professions will be the same as those of graduates of Greek public universities.
The government, on the one hand, is launching a reduction in the number of admitted students and closing departments and faculties of public universities, citing quality assurance for graduates, in the name of superficial excellence, and on the other hand, matching the professional rights of public universities and colleges.
This development will de facto equate private colleges with public universities and, at the same time, will lead to the full commercialization of higher education and the degradation of university degrees.
This development opens the appetite for further privatization of aspects of the operation of public universities. This Aeolus exchange, which opened with the generalization of graduate tuition fees, the opening of undergraduate programs with tuition at EKPA, will now fit into colleges, strengthening the operation of the university – company. It is well known that universities are models for the restructuring of labor relations between professors and staff, the absence of any concept of student care, high enrollments and direct connection with large companies.
Universities: the biggest “pass” in private education
One could say that it is paradoxical, unprecedented, but all educational institutions (OLME, ILO, OIELE, Student Associations) know that it is nothing more than their class interests, their ideology, their politics! This is their class position, serving the interests of “private initiative”, knowledge entrepreneurs, treating public universities as stores that must function like all other stores: make a delivery!
They devalue the public University itself and its degrees to give a clientele to the private ones! This was done by the former Minister of Education K. Arvanitopoulos (Government of ND) in 2013 when he abolished the specialties requested in EPAL and at the same time, as a sponsor, he was present at the inauguration of a private business training group and IEK that offered the specialties abolished in their new facilities.
Yes, universities show the way! Pericles Pavlidis University rightly points out that this situation, in connection with all the changes that are being launched in universities, paves the way for their transformation into colleges. Why, if one can obtain a degree from a College with 3 years of “studies” with “despite him and his tail”, why commit himself to the Public University and its 4 years of studies? And on the contrary: if the degree of private schools has the same value as that of public universities, then why should not public universities function as private schools, with all that that entails (cheap quality studies, market perception , license plate)? ; Thus, one gear “catches” the other!
Severe TEE reactions
This new operation to strengthen private education and all entrepreneurs of “knowledge” by the Government of ND and the Ministry of Education caused the strong reaction of the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE) which emphasizes that the regulation that provides for an automated process Professional recognition equivalence of foreign university and college degrees, is blatantly unfair to certified engineers, detrimental to the public interest and leveling off for public education.
In a statement, the president of the TEE, George Stasinos, says: “With a surprise initiative, the Ministry of Education presented an amendment, at the initiative of Mrs. Kerameos, to recognize the professional qualifications of those who studied engineering in a foreign country. And it presents, under false pretenses, Community law and the opinions of the European Commission. The fear of what these rules mean is demonstrated by the method of the Ministry of Education: the amendment was submitted at the last minute, in secret … ”
And he continues: “The inspirers … They will understand it in the first earthquake, in the first flood, in the first violation of the information systems, in the first industrial or labor accident, in the first problem of food safety. “The options regarding professional rights are not just market issues, they are not neutral administrative procedures, they are issues of health, safety and protection of human life.”
