SETE believes that in modern economies, innovation and knowledge will gradually tend to become more important than traditional forms of capital and work. Research, innovation and knowledge generation are clearly the most important currency that universities trade in. Unfortunately, the current situation with tertiary education in Greece does not generate knowledge or create innovation. It certainly doesn’t hold out hope for creating competitive advantages for Greece in the future. Given this situation, changes in tertiary education are more than essential. A large segment of society is anxiously awaiting such changes.
As a comment on the principles of the draft law on changes in tertiary education, SETE supports every effort to modernise public tertiary education establishments while also removing party politics from them.
Certain things are already being implemented at foreign universities with encouraging results, such as the participation of external members in the Management Boards of universities, the establishment of an independent financing body, the management of the university assets by private companies, the assessment of teaching staff, the abolition of the distribution of printed materials and their replacement by online materials, as well as the adoption of a credits system. These things clearly have SETE’s support within a Greek context.
Other measures that will contribute to the improvement of tertiary education include: the election of the rector by the Management Board following a public announcement of the post, the reduction of student involvement in the management of universities, the rewording/clarification of “university asylum” rules so that the real meaning of the concept is clear, the rector’s sole responsibility for safeguarding the university, the placement of restrictions on “eternal students” and automatic deletion of all these students that do not register at the universities, as well as the idea that semesters will have fixed durations so that exams can be held without impediments.
SETE considers that a draft law must be laid before the Hellenic Parliament as soon as possible. SETE would take this opportunity to propose to start the dialogue in order to allow the establishment of private universities in Greece.
