Education in Greece - Current Issues

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 degree within 3 years and a master degree within 2 years.)