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From Monday to mid-October, classes are scheduled to begin in all departments and schools of the country’s universities.
The framework with which the universities will operate has been published in the Official Gazette since the beginning of September and the communication channel of the Ministry of Education and the rectors is constantly open. However, the rectors are expressing their concern about whether the implementation of the measures and the functioning of the universities will coexist without hindrance.
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According to the instructions of the ministry, the use of a mask is mandatory in all areas of the universities and courses, seminars, laboratories and clinical exercises with up to 50 people will be held in person, observing the necessary protection measures. In the case of courses with more than 50 people, the lectures will be delivered remotely.
Digalakis: “To protect the safe conduct of the new academic year”
“We are experiencing a new reality in universities due to a pandemic and we have to adapt to the different, but necessary conditions it imposes,” Vassilis Digalakis, Deputy Minister of Education, in charge of Higher Education, told APE-MPE. As noted, the observance of prevention and protection measures, which are documented by science, is “necessary for students to safely return to classrooms and laboratories and continue the educational process smoothly.” He called the achievement of the safe return of students to campus important because, as he said, “an extension of the absence of students from campus would be to their detriment.”
«Live discussion and interaction in amphitheaters cannot be completely replaced by distance education nor do we want students to be separated from the general experience of studying at an institution of higher education. Therefore, it is worth consciously and responsibly to safeguard the safe and smooth development of the new academic year, “stressed Mr. Digalakis.
In the context of the new reality that the coronavirus pandemic brings to universities, the need to equip universities with teaching staff becomes even greater. For this reason, as stated by the Vice-Counselor in the APE-MPE, the procedures are beginning to grant, through NSRF, approximately 2,000 scholarships, worth 5.2 million euros, reciprocally, to postgraduate students and doctoral students, in order to in selected courses, tutoring classes for undergraduate students.
Until mid-October the start of the courses at the universities
The ministry has been in contact with the rectors for months about how the measures will be implemented in practice and in fact, last Tuesday another teleconference was held between Mr. Digalakis and the rectors, in order to clarify details on how the institutions will operate. during the winter semester of the 2020-21 academic year. Although each university independently chooses the organization of the academic year calendar, The courses are expected to start in the schools and departments of Greek universities in mid-October..
In fact, schools during this period provide updates through their websites and secretariats on how each department will work, what will apply to the completion of each course, etc.
The new reality of universities is a conundrum
The organization and design of curricula, based on the new reality, was a powerful puzzle for all HEIs. On the one hand, the need to keep academic structures “alive”, with the presence of students and, on the other hand, the need for more classrooms, but also for teachers. And all this, with the main objective of protecting the health of the members of the academic community. «We try to see how many lifetime lessons can be done“Said, speaking with APE-MPE, the rector of the National University and Kapodistrian of Athens, Thanos Dimopoulos.
As he pointed out, there are difficulties regarding the adaptation of classrooms and teachers. “There is a difficulty regarding the adaptation of the rooms. As for the teaching staff, we have already made a relevant suggestion to the Ministry of Education about additional teaching staff,” he said.
On the same wavelength is the National Technical University of Athens, which opens its doors on Monday for the first courses of the year. “THE the need to comply with sanitary measures imposes a sparse design in rooms and laboratories and consequently the proliferation of teaching and practice departments. This highlights the severe shortage of classrooms and teaching staff, as a result of consistently underfunded higher education, “NTUA Rector Andreas Boudouvis said in statements to APE-MPE.
It should be noted that the need for teaching staff due to the coronavirus pandemic increases if one takes into account that among teachers there are people who belong to vulnerable groups and cannot support face-to-face teaching.
“The implementation of the recent JMC collides with the relentless reality,” said Mr. Boudouvis, adding: “Its application in compulsory courses with enrollments far over 50 is possible only through division into sections. Its applicability, however, is co-determined by the availability of classrooms and teaching staff and the time limits of the program schedule and is extremely limited. “
For this reason, the universities ask the Ministry of Education to streamline the procedures that will bring in new teachers and funding for auxiliary teaching staff positions.
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