Student numbers at private schools rise in 2017-18
Private secondary schools in Greece saw a 3.2 percent increase in student enrollments in 2017-18 compared to the previous year, according to data released Thursday by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).
More specifically, the number of students increased from 14,843 in the 2016-17 academic year to 15,311 a year later.
The increase is attributed, among other factors, to the abolition in 2015 of so-called “experimental” and “model” schools – public institutions that implemented innovative teaching practices.
The data also showed that the overall number of students in the first three grades of secondary schools (public and private) in 2017-18 decreased slightly (-0.2 percent) from 313,130 in 2016-17 to 312,604.
On the other hand, the number of students in grades 4, 5 and 6 of public and private schools increased to 245,811 in 2017-18 – a rise of 0.6 percent compared to 244,386 in 2016-2017.
Meanwhile Thursday, a crowd of university students affiliated with radical leftist movements clashed with riot police outside the Greek Parliament in Athens during a protest march against the reforms introduced to the country’s higher education system.