Objections ahead of college degree vote
A tense debate is expected in Parliament on Thursday ahead of a vote on a contentious Education Ministry bill that would allow graduates of education faculties belonging to private colleges – that operate in Greece as branches of foreign universities and colleges – the right to apply for positions at Greek schools.
DOATAP, the agency responsible for the recognition of degrees from foreign institutions, has expressed its opposition to the proposed reform, indicating that it violates Greece’s Constitution.
Meanwhile SYRIZA’s shadow education minister Nikos Filis and the leftist opposition party’s spokesperson Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou called on Education Minister Niki Kerameus to submit to Parliament a letter sent to Greece last summer by the European Commission which reportedly calls on Greece to comply with the EC’s 2005/36 professional qualifications directive, which stipulates rules for the recognition of professional and academic titles across the European Union.
The letter lists 10 reasons that the EC believes that the government’s proposed reforms violate the directive.
DOATAP, for its part, believes that granting equal status to graduates of private colleges would be tantamount to a violation of two paragraphs of Article 16 of the Constitution which relate to the recognition of academic equality in Greece, Kathimerini understands.
