New university security plan on the table

The issue of security at universities has once again come to the fore, following the outrages of the last few days, with hooded assailants entering the University of Athens and spreading fear with threats of violence in student assemblies. 

The effective scuppering of the plan for the university police (University Protection Groups, as the body was called) means that precious time has been lost for such a difficult project, as its implementation requires special handling and organization.

The responsibility for the plan not getting off the ground lies squarely with the government and the university authorities, which never proceeded to install security cameras inside university premises. Nor did they persevere to install turnstiles at the entrances to buildings.

These turnstile in question is a rotating mechanism placed at the entrance of buildings that allows a person to enter the premises after being checked or showing a document.

Kathimerini now understands that the government will proceed with a new plan for the security of institutions of higher education, but this cannot be done in the present circumstances, as the bill on the institutionalization of non-state universities has led to faculty occupations at major universities by a minority of students and others who oppose the planned legislation.

Therefore, the government is seeking a more politically appropriate time to move ahead with the security upgrade.

However, it should be stressed that, as government officials told Kathimerini on Friday, the law establishing the University Protection Groups has been in force since February 2021, when the minister of citizen protection was Michalis Chrysochoidis, who is currently in the same government post.

Both Chrysochoidis and former minister of education (and current interior minister) Niki Kerameus had supported the project.