Athens University orders enquiry into server outage that halted exams

Authorities at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens have ordered a sworn administrative enquiry into an incident on Monday where some college administrators and students prevented online examinations from taking place by pulling the plug on a computer server.

The university’s Association of Administrative Employees said it, along with “student associations,” had taken out the server, in the context of protests against the government’s bill to allow private universities operate in Greece.

“The government is trying to bypass, in an extortionate way, the student movement through remote exams,” the association said.

The government welcomed the reaction of the university authorities.

“Blocking students’ exams even for an hour is in no way activism, a social measure or a revolutionary act. It is a deeply illegal move, which even prevents students from taking their exams. It hinders the operation of the university,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said.