The Greek educational system is mainly divided into three levels: primary, secondary and tertiary, with an additional post-secondary level providing vocational training. Primary education is divided into kindergarten lasting one or two years, and primary school spanning six years (ages 6 to 12). Secondary education comprises two stages: Gymnasio (variously translated as Middle or Junior High School), a three-year school, after which students can attend Lykeion or Vocational lykeion. Higher Tertiary education is provided by Universities, Technological Universities (T.E.I.) and Academies which primarily cater for the military and the clergy. Undergraduate courses typically last 4 years (5 in polytechnics and some technical/art schools, and 6 in medical schools), postgraduate (MSc level) courses last from 1 to 2 years and doctorates (PhD level) from 3 to 6 years.
All levels are overseen by the Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs. The Ministry exercises centralized control over state schools, by prescribing the curriculum, appointing staff and controlling funding. Private schools also fall under the mandate of the Ministry, which exercises supervisory control over them. At a regional level, the supervisory role of the Ministry is exercised through Regional Directorates of Primary and Secondary Education, and Directorates of Primary and Secondary Education operate in every Prefecture. Tertiary institutions are nominally autonomous, but the Ministry is responsible for their funding, and the distribution of students to undergraduate courses. Currently the Greek government only recognises the degree programmes offered by the state-run universities although there are several private universities and colleges offering degree programmes that are validated and overseen by American, British and other European universities. The Greek government is pressured to recognise these overseas programmes.
All levels of education are catered for by both private and public schools. State-run schools and universities do not charge tuition fees and textbooks are provided free to all students, although, from 2011 onwards, there has been a noticeable shortage of new textbooks, forcing students to either buy stock books from bookshops, or participate in parent-teacher association-run book trades. There are also a number of private tutorial schools, colleges and universities operating alongside the state education and providing supplementary tuition. These parallel schools (Greek: ????????????, frontistirio (singular)) provide foreign language tuition, supplementary lessons for weak students as well as exam preparation courses for the competitive Panhellenic national examinations. Most of the students typically attend such classes (and examinations) at the tutors schools in the afternoon and evening in addition to their normal schooling.
The education system has been receiving negative comments over the years by the Greek people. Many argue that the system lags behind and shows weaknesses compared to the systems of other European countries.
Video Education in Greece
Primary education
Elementary schools are called "Dimotiko" (demotic, meaning municipal), a carryover term from a time when such schools were run by local communities. The name remains although it has been obsolete for decades. In the first two years pupils are not officially graded, and parents obtain feedback about their performance via oral communications with teachers. Grading begins in Year 3, and written exams are introduced in Year 5. Graduating from one year to the next is automatic, and pupils with deficient performance are given remedial tutoring. Years are called "classes", from first to sixth:
- Year 1 (????? ?????????): age 6 to 7
- Year 2 (??????? ?????????): age 7 to 8
- Year 3 (????? ?????????): age 8 to 9
- Year 4 (??????? ?????????): age 9 to 10
- Year 5 (?????? ?????????): age 10 to 11
- Year 6 (???? ?????????): age 11 to 12
A normal school-day starts at 8.15 and finishes from 13.15 to 15.00 depending on the school. The classes last between 40 and 90 minutes. The school year always starts on September 11 and ends on June 15. The students have summer vacation (about 3 months), Christmas vacation (2 weeks) and Easter vacation (2 weeks). Furthermore, students take usually another four days off in order to celebrate their two national holidays (28/10 and 25/3).
Basic subjects:
- Modern Greek Language (7 classes/week)
- Mathematics (5 classes/week)
- Environmental Studies (2-4 classes/week)
- Physical Education (4 classes/week)
- Music (1 class/week)
- Art (1 class/week)
- Theatre (1 class/week)
- Flexible Zone (1-2 classes/week)
- English (2-4 classes/week)
(The classes a week for a subject may vary from the teacher who teaches)
Additional Subjects: Not needed but go toward more marks
- Physics (3 classes/week and only for years 5 and 6)
- Geography (2 classes/week and only for years 5 and 6)
- History (2 classes/week and for years 3-6)
- Religion (1 class/week and for years 3-6)
- Social & Political Studies (1 class/week and only for years 5 and 6)
- Second Foreign Language (2 classes/week and only for years 5 and 6)
Grading System:
- 1st Year: no grades
- 2nd Year: no grades
- 3rd Year: A-D
- 4th Year: A-D
- 5th Year: 1-10
- 6th Year: 1-10
Enrollment to the next tier of compulsory education, the Gymnasium, is automatic.
Maps Education in Greece
Secondary education
???????? (Gymnasium - Middle School) (compulsory education)
- ????? ????????? / 1st grade, age 12 to 13
- ??????? ????????? / 2nd grade, age 13 to 14
- ????? ????????? / 3rd grade, age 14 to 15
Starts on September 11 and ends on June 15 to 18. The lessons end in 31 May so that the students will be able to study for their examinations between May and June. The classes start at 8.15 and end from 13.45 to 14.15 according to the type of school. Classes last from 30 min. to 45 min. and there are breaks of 10 and 5 minutes between them. There were 6 types of gymnasiums in Greece:
- General Gymnasium (entering there from the primary school is automatic)
- Athletic Gymnasium (to enter this type of school students must pass certain exams on a sport like football, basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, polo, swimming etc.)
- Musical Gymnasium (to enter this type of school students must pass certain exams on a musical instrument)
- Art Gymnasium (to enter this type of school students must pass certain exams on either arts, dance, or theater)
- Experimental Gymnasium (to enter this type of schools students must pass certain exams on Maths, Science, Reading Comprehension and Writing [the last two are written as one])
- Church Gymnasium
Today Athletic Gymnasiums don't exist.
The subjects for:
1. ????? ?????????/1st Grade of Gymnasium (The curriculum is based on the 2013 curriculum, for the school season 2014-2015):
- Modern Greek language (3 classes/week)
- Modern Greek literature (2 classes/week)
- Ancient Greek language (2 classes/week)
- Ancient Greek Literature (2 classes/week)
- Mathematics (4 classes/week) (Algebra 2 classes/week and Geometry 2 classes/week)
- Physics (1 class/week)
- Biology (1 classes/week)
- Geography (1 classes/week)
- History (2 classes/week)
- Religion (2 classes/week)
- English language (2 classes/week)
- 2nd foreign language (usually French or German) (2 classes/week)
- Technology (1 class/week)
- Computer studies (1 class/week)
- Music (1 class/week)
- Art (1 class/week)
- Physical education (2 classes/week)
- Home economics (2 classes/week)
2. ??????? ?????????/2nd Grade of Gymnasium (The curriculum is based on the 2013 curriculum, for the school season 2014-2015):
- Modern Greek Language (2 hours/week)
- Modern Greek Literature (2 hours/week)
- Ancient Greek Language (3 hours/week)
- Ancient Greek Literature (2 hours/week)
- Mathematics (4 hours/week)
- Physics (2 hours/week)
- Chemistry (1 hour/week)
- Biology (1 hour/week)
- Geography (2 hours/week)
- History (2 hours/week)
- Religion Education (2 hours/week)
- English Language (2 hours/week)
- 2nd Foreign Language: French or German (2 hours/week)
- Technology (1 hour/week)
- Computer Studies (1 hour/week)
- Music (1 hour/week)
- Art (1 hour/week)
- Physical Education (2 hours/week)
- Home Economics (1 hour/week)
- Project (1 hour/week)
3. ????? ?????????/3rd Grade of Gymnasium (The curriculum is based on the 2013 curriculum, for the school season 2015-2016):
- Religion Education (2 hours/week)
- Ancient Greek Literature (2 hours/week)
- Ancient Greek Language (3 hours/week)
- Modern Greek Language (2 hours/week)
- Modern Greek Literature (2 hours/week)
- History (2 hours/week)
- Social & Political Studies (2 hours/week)
- English Language (2 hours/week)
- 2nd Foreign Language: French or German (2 hours/week)
- Mathematics (4 hours/week)
- Physics (2 hours/week)
- Chemistry (1 hour/week)
- Biology (1 hours/week)
- Physical Education (2 hours/week)
- Music (1 hour/week)
- Art (1 hour/week)
- Computer Studies (1 hour/week)
- Technology (1 hour/week)
- Project (2 hours/week)
?????? ?????? (General Lyceum - High School)
- ????? ??????? / 1st grade, age 15 to 16
- ??????? ??????? / 2nd grade, age 16 to 17
- ????? ??????? / 3rd grade, age 17 to 18
On September 2013, the Minister of Education, Lifelong learning and Religious affairs Konstantinos Arvanitopoulos officially announced the historic recreation of the General Lyceum. On September 12, 2013 the new system was introduced to the new students of the 1st grade of General Lyceum.
The subjects for:
1. ????? ??????? ???????/1st Grade of General Lyceum (The curriculum is based on the 2013 curriculum, for the school season 2014-2015):
- Subjects of General Education
Ancient Greek (5 hours/week) Modern Greek Language (2 hours/week) Modern Greek Literature (2 hours/week) Algebra (3 hours/week) Geometry (2 hours/week) Physics (2 hours/week) Chemistry (2 hours/week) Biology (2 hours/week) History (2 hours/week) Political Studies (3 hours/week) Religion Education (2 hours/week) Project (2 hours/week) Foreign Language: English or French or German (2 hours/week) Physical Education (2 hours/week)
- Subjects of selection
Applications of Computer Science (2 hours/week) Geology and Management of Natural Resources (2 hours/week) Greek and European Culture (2 hours/week) Art Education (2 hours/week)
2. ??????? ??????? ???????/2nd Grade of General Lyceum (The curriculum is based on the 2013 curriculum, for the school season 2014-2015):
- Subjects of General Education
Ancient Greek (2 hour/week) Modern Greek Language (2 hours/week) Modern Greek Literature (2 hours/week) Algebra (3 hours/week) Geometry (2 hours/week) Physics (2 hours/week) Chemistry (2 hours/week) Biology (2 hours/week) Introduction to the Principles of Science of Computers (1 hour/week) History (2 hours/week) Philosophy (2 hours/week) Political Education (2 hours/week) Religious Education (2 hours/week) Project (1 hour/week) Foreign Language: English or French or German (2 hours/week) Physical Education (1 hour/week)
The students can choose 1 of the 2 Orientation Groups: the Humanities or the Sciences
- Subjects of the Humanities Orientation Group
Ancient Greek Language and Literature (3 hours/week) Basic Principles of Social Science (2 hours/week)
- Subjects of the Sciences Orientation Group
Physics (3 hours/week) Mathematics (2 hours/week)
3. ????? ??????? ???????/3rd Grade of General Lyceum (The curriculum is based on the 2015 curriculum, for the school season 2015-2016):
- Subjects of General Education
Religion Education (1 hour/week) Foreign Language: English or French or German (2 hours/week) Physical Education (2 hours/week) History (2 hours/week) Greek Language (2 hours/week) Greek Literature (1 hour/week) Biology (2 hours/week) Mathematics and Statistics (2 hours/week) History of Social Sciences (1 hour/week)
- Subjects for selection
2nd Foreign Language Drawing(free or linear) History of Art Business Management and Organization (all 2 hours/week)
The students can choose 1 of the 3 Orientation Groups: the Humanities, the Economical and Computer Studies and the Science Studies.
- Subjects of the Humanities Orientation Group:
Ancient Greek Language (5 hours/week) Latin (3 hours/week) History (3 hours/week) Literature(2 hours/week) Sociology (2 hours/week)
- Subjects of the Economical and Computer Studies Orientation Group:
Mathematics (5 hours/week) Economy (3 hours/week) Computers (2 hours/week) History (3 hours/week) Sociology (2 hours/week)
- Subjects of the Science Studies Orientation Group:
Mathematics (5 hours/week) Biology (2 hours/week) Physics (3 hours/week) Chemistry (3 hours/week) Computers (2 hours/week)
As mentioned above, the students must take the Panhellenic national Examinations in order to proceed to the Higher Tertiary education. These exams are held after the students have received their Apolytirion. The students pass into a specific Higher Educational Institute based on the Orientation and Group chosen.
Private schools
There is a wide range of private schools in Greece. 6% of students who attend compulsory education (the highest percent in the European Union) study in Private Schools. Tuition fees start from EUR1,500 to EUR13,000 according to the school and the year.
School elections
From the fifth year of the primary school to the third year of Lyceum elections are held.
Elections in primary schools
They are held every September. All the students are obliged to elect 2 presidiums for each class who "rule" until January when the other one succeeds the first. The role of these presidiums is to primp the classrooms for the national holidays and for Christmas. Furthermore, they transfer the complaints of each student to the school authorities.
There are 4 positions:
- The President
- The Vice-President
- The General Secretary
- The Treasurer
Elections in Gymnasiums and Lyceums
They are held every September and are divided into 2 parts.
In the 1st part every student elects the Presidium of his/her class.
The Class Presidium has 5 members:
- The President
- The General Secretary
- The Treasurer
- The 1st Member
- The 2nd Member
In the second part students elect a School Council which has 15 members and represents the students. Its role is extremely important in every school because the School Council takes significant decisions for all the students.
The School Council has 15 members:
- The School President
- The Vice-President
- The Treasurer
- Another 12 Members
Tertiary education in Greece
- ??????? ???????????? ???????? - ?.E.I. (Higher Educational Institutes)
Higher Educational Institutes are consisted of two parallel sectors: the Technological Universities (T.E.I.) and the Universities. In addition, colleges collaborating with foreign universities can offer undergraduate and postgraduate UK foreign programmes of study in Greece, under the proper registration with the Greek Ministry of Education. Usually, these programmes are provided following franchise or validation agreements with universities established in other European Union countries, primarily in the UK, leading to degrees which are awarded directly by those universities. In some cases these institutions are wholly owned and operated branch campuses of foreign institutions, as in the case of the University of Indianapolis, Athens Campus. List of universities in Greece
According to the European University Association, austerity measures imposed after the 2010 bailout halved public funding for higher education in real terms between 2009 and 2014; Greece now spends an average of EUR545 per student. Spending cuts were such that eight Greek universities, including the University of Athens, had to close down temporarily in fall 2013 because they lacked the staff to keep the university running.
Private education
- There are public and private dimotika (primary education), gymnasia (middle school; secondary education), lykeia (high school; secondary education). Some of them are for foreigners, usually children of British or American families. For example, see American Community Schools.
- Public and private IEK
- According to the article 16 of the Greek constitution, private tertiary education was not allowed in Greece. However, there were some Schools (or "Laboratories") of Liberal Studies (Ergastiria Eleftheron Spoudon), often franchises of foreign universities, sometimes non-profit organizations, which advertised themselves as private universities or as centers from public universities abroad. For example, see DEI College/University of London International Programmes and UCLan, I.S.T. College/University of Hertfordshire, New York College (European and American Education), BCA Business College of Athens, ALBA Graduate Business School, University of Wales, Bangor, Mediterranean College, Deree College, Athens Information Technology Center of Excellence for Research and Education etc.
- Following changes in the Greek legislation, in 2008 and 2010, private organisations, referred to as colleges, have been authorised to offer foreign undergraduate and postgraduate programmes under the monitoring of the Greek Ministry of Education, for example iCon College.
All levels are overseen by the Ministry of Culture, Education and Religious Affairs, which exercises centralised control over public schools, by prescribing the curriculum, appointing staff, and controlling funding. The ministry exercises a supervisory mandate over private schools. At a regional level, the supervisory role of the Ministry is exercised through Regional Directorates of Primary and Secondary Education, and Directorates of Primary and Secondary Education operate in every Prefecture. Tertiary institutions are nominally autonomous, but the Ministry is responsible for their funding, and the distribution of students to undergraduate courses. Currently the Greek government only recognises degree programmes offered by the state-run universities although there are several private universities and colleges offering degree programmes that are validated and overseen by American, British and other European universities. The Greek government is pressured to recognise these overseas programmes.
All levels of education are catered for by both private and public schools. State-run schools and universities do not charge tuition fees and textbooks are provided free to all students, although, from 2011 onwards, there has been noticed a shortage in new textbooks, forcing students to either buy stock books from bookshops, or participate in parent-teacher association-run book trades.
There are also a number of private tutors schools, colleges and universities operating alongside the state education and providing supplementary tuition. These parallel schools, called Frontistirio (Greek: ????????????) provide foreign-language tuition, supplementary lessons for weak students, as well as exam preparation for the competitive Panhellenic national examinations. Most of the students typically attend such classes (and examinations) at the tutors schools in the afternoon and evening in addition to their normal schooling.
Vocational education and training
- I.E.K. - ?????????? ?????????????? ?????????? (Institouto Epagelmatikis Katartisis - Vocational Training Institute). O.E.E.K. is the government organization which oversees these institutes.
- Private EES schools often offer seminars and 1-year vocational programmes, usually for Computing or Business studies. Young Greeks can seek private vocational education using the computer software products Eurofasma and Kefaleo (Capital).
Obsolete institutions
- ??????? ????????????? ?????????????, ??? (Techniko Epagelmatiko Ekpedeftirio - Technical Professional/Vocational School, TEE)
- ??????? ????????????? ??????, ??? (Techniko Epagelmatiko Lykeio - Technical Professional/Vocational Lyceum, TEL)
- ??????? ????????????? ?????, ??? (Techniki Epagelmatiki Scholi - Technical Professional/Vocational School, TES)
- ?????? ??????????? ??????, ??? (Eniaio Polykladiko Lykeio - Unified Multidisciplinary Lyceum, EPL)
Current issues
The foremost topic of debate in recent years has been recognition of the private universities, which are forbidden by the 1975 constitution. Numerous private institutions, which are often franchises of European and American universities, such as State University of New York, but also non-profit accredited institutions or wholly owned and operated branch campuses of foreign universities, such as the University of Indianapolis - Athens Campus, are operating legally as EES schools (translatable as "Laboratories of Free Study").
Moreover, with few exceptions, the Greek government refuses to recognize three-year university degrees. Students who completed a bachelor's degree in a foreign country find it difficult to secure employment in the public sector, unless they next obtain a master's degree, in which case their academic qualifications are considered equivalent to a four-year undergraduate degree conferred by a Greek higher educational institute.
Following pressure from the EU member states, within the framework of the Bologna Process, Greece is revising its classification of degrees to bring it in line with the framework defined in the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System/ECTS. (It is usually the goal to accomplish a bachelor's degree within 3 years and a master's degree within 2 years.)
Criticism
There exists a widespread disapproval of the Greek Education System.
Many claim that the System does little to help students explore and develop their abilities so that they can make use of them in life.
Another important issue, which is often a cause of disturbance in many Greek families, is the existence of after-school paid private classes/institutes named frontistiria (????????????). Attending those has essentially become a necessity in order for Greek students to be able to achieve high grades and succeed in their exams. Their existence, if not ubiquitous existence, undermines the public educational system and renders school attendance and studying for school secondary obligations, as opposed to the priority and main role of the frontistiria in exam preparation. This phenomenon is noticed especially as the student approaches twelfth grade, the senior year of high school, because of the increased difficulty and competitiveness of the university entrance exams, the Panhellenic Examinations. This has also been an object of criticism due to the high fees that most Greek families are called to pay to afford the frontistiria or private lessons, thus deviating from the concept of a free and accessible education for everyone. Furthermore, in 2012 the Greek government introduced a regulation that changed the process for the selection of students who wished to be registered in the Experimental Schools. Before 2012, those students were picked from a draw, whereas the new regulation established a system of entrance exams for Experimental Schools. This would take place in the 1st grade of lower and upper high school that the students had to pass in order to be selected. This incident reinforced the presence of frontistiria, as some parents urged their children's attendance of private classes, even while at primary school age, so as to prepare them for the entrance exams. The regulation also renamed the Experimental Schools to Exemplar Experimental Schools.
Overall, the Panhellenic Examinations' system, which essentially determines the students' future, is the main controversy within this context. People often pronounce upon the exams, claiming that the exam questions' difficulty changes from year to year or pointing out mistakes on their wording that can justifiably cause confusion to the students. Harder exams at a year often result in lower numbers of students succeeding in their desired department of 3rd grade education.
Greece' education has ranked last in the EU according to a 2014 survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit and shown poor performance at all three subjects of the 2015 PISA contest.
See also
- Education in ancient Greece
- Open access in Greece to scholarly communication
- Education Research Centre - Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, The Greek Education System. Facts and Figures (Supervision: Prof. V. Koulaidis. Compiled by C. Papakyriakopoulos, A. Patouna, A. Katsis & S. Georgiadou), Athens, 2003. (ISBN 960-541-106-7)
- (in Greek) ?????? ????????????? ???????, ?? ???????? ???????????? ??????? ????????? ?????? ?? ????????, ?????, 2003. (ISBN 960-541-108-3) [1] (accessed June 1, 2006)
- Greek Educational System: The Implementation of the ICT in the Greek Curriculum in Compulsory Education, IACM/FORTH, November 2003 [2]
- National report of Greece 2009 - Bologna Process: http://www.ond.vlaanderen.be/hogeronderwijs/bologna/links/Greece.htm
References
External links
- Information on education in Greece, OECD - Contains indicators and information about Greece and how it compares to other OECD and non-OECD countries
- Diagram of Greek education system, OECD - Using 1997 ISCED classification of programmes and typical ages. Also in Greek
- Education in Greece, webdossier by Education Worldwide, a portal of the German Education Server
Source of article : Wikipedia
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