Bill seeks to take politics out of student elections
As part of the government’s stated objective to weaken the influence of political parties within universities, the Education Ministry will introduce a single ballot paper for student elections.
More specifically, Education Minister Niki Kerameus said on Wednesday that the new measure will be included in a forthcoming bill for higher education, noting that “there will be extensive discussions with the institutions and the academic community.”
The regulation is a pre-election commitment of ruling New Democracy to rid student elections of partisan politics.
It is hoped that the move will entice more students to vote, as current abstention rates hover over 50% a year.
Proponents of the move say the new regulation, combined with the coveted electronic voting, will pave the way for non-affiliated students to be elected to the governing bodies of their faculty, whose purpose is mainly academic and not political.
