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Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-07-07
CONTENTS
[01] Papandreou addresses issue of private, non-profit universities
[01] Papandreou addresses issue of private, non-profit universities
Main opposition PASOK leader George Papandreou covered local government
and youth issues during an address in Athens on Friday, as he detailed
his party's position over the closely watched issue of private,
non-profit universities.
Greece is among the few countries in the world where a constitutional
ban forbids the establishment of private, or non-state, higher
education institutions. Numerous private colleges nevertheless exist in
the country but are not recognised by the state or regulated by the
education ministry, rather they fall under the supervision of the
development ministry and tax bureaus as private enterprises.
Papandreou, who has backed the idea of allowing the establishment of
bonafide non-state universities, said his party absolutely wants the
evaluation and accreditation by the Greek state of whatever private
universities want to operate here, "in order to benefit the public
interest."
Conversely, he opined that ruling New Democracy party merely wants to
exercise a very tight control over public education and allow a lawless
situation in the private domain. He added that ND's proposal, as
opposed to his, would allow whatever evaluation and accreditation to be
done by foreign countries and universities and not the Greek state.
He added that for PASOK the solution is not a "non-state education
system, but an upgrading and support of the state system."
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