New education minister: Article 16 an ‘anachronism’

The recently appointed Education Minister, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, has affirmed his dedication to pushing for a review of Article 16 in the Greek Constitution, which currently prohibits the establishment of private universities. “Article 16 is an anachronism, and we are determined to change it,” he said during an interview with Skai radio on Monday.

Pierrakakis, widely recognized for his work at the Ministry of Digital Governance during the previous conservative government’s term, stressed that the introduction of private universities would not pose a threat to their public counterparts. Instead, he said, the government’s objective is to upgrade the existing state universities. In that context, he announced the allocation of funds exceeding one billion euros for programs in public universities.

The minister expressed his disappointment with the negative responses from the leftist opposition regarding the establishment of private universities. He emphasized that while education is often viewed as a domain of consensus in other countries, in Greece, it has become an arena of intense political confrontation.

“The architects of artificial polarization and the proponents of inertia will face the political cost,” Pierrakakis said.