Technical colleges walk out of education talks

Technical colleges (TEIs) announced on Saturday that they will no longer take part in the so-called “dialogue for education,” a series of discussions between the government, opposition parties and representatives of the tertiary education system.

The technical colleges said they are quitting the process because they object to the way that the government plans to allocate 500 new appointments in the sector. The majority of the new appointees (363) will be at the country’s universities, while TEIs will get 136 new staff.

The stance of the heads of Greece’s technical colleges angered the government.

“Instead of applauding the first hirings after six years… they consider the ministry’s decision undemocratic,” said Alternate Education Minister Sia Anagnostopoulou.