Higher education on the ropes after merger bill

The new education bill which was passed into law on Tuesday to merge Greek technical colleges (TEI) with universities will, critics says, undermine standards and plunge the country’s higher education system into disarray.

Tellingly, more than 400,000 TEI graduates are demanding that their degrees be upgraded to university degrees.

The bill introduced by Education Minister Costas Gavroglou has been widely criticized for reverting to outdated teaching models and opening the back door to hirings.

However, Gavroglou defended the law on Wednesday, describing it as a “necessary” reform.