We have seldom covered issues related to the Greek education system in these pages on the grounds that few if any readers will have children who are actively involved in it. However, as a matter of general information, the following major changes planned may be of interest, providing a snapshot of the issues currently preoccupying the education authorities and of the government’s efforts to address some of the system’s most obvious shortcomings. We have omitted some of the more technical details.

Eleven changes which will improve teaching processes and school life in the forthcoming school year, which begins on 11 September, were announced at a meeting on Thursday 29th August led by the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the minister for Education, Religions and Sport Kyriakos Pierrakakis. Manpower, investment in technology and issues of teaching processes and in-school behaviour were among the topics highlighted.

The 11 changes

1. Record number of new teaching appointments
Ten thousand new appointments of teaching staff of all specialities will decisively reinforce the public education system, from the first day of working of schools. The permanent new teaching appointments for this year are almost as many as the combined totals for 2022 (8,254) and 2023 (3,693) …

2. The Digital Frontistirio
The big innovation of the current school year, this will be introduced in pilot form on 16th September and will affect thousands of pupils throughout the country. Every candidate for admission to Higher Education, via the Panhellenic exams, will be able to follow live afternoon lectures on all the materials in the subjects which will be examined, including the special subjects such as linear and architectural design, German and French.

Pupils will have the benefit of interactive participation and individual support from the 98 teachers who have taken on the task of supplementary teaching in the 45 subjects which are examined nationwide in June, in the general and vocational secondary schools. …. Also the Digital Frontistirio will enable all pupils to follow the totality of teaching materials in electronic form. …

3. Autonomous classes
Gavdos (2024) and Arki (2025) will be the first two remote locations to get schools with the physical presence of three teaching staff, in basic specialisms, together with up-to-date remote teaching for all the other subjects. In this way pupils will get access to education while remaining in the area where they live. At the same time they can be supported with supplementary teaching via the Digital Frontistirio.

4. Interactive teaching systems
Out of the 36,264 interactive screens which will be installed by 31st December 2024 in all classes from the the 5th year of primary school (Dimotiko) to the 3rd year of secondary school (Lykeio), 28,504 are already in school classrooms, i.e. 76.8% of the total.

With money from the Reconstruction Fund, infant, primary and secondary schools are being equipped with 177,112 robotics kits. To date 100,281 have been delivered, i.e. 56.62% of the total.

5. E-parents app
The new digital tool for parents and guardians is already providing them with information about pupils’ marks, as well as announcements and notifications from individual schools.

6. Stopbullying.gov.gr platform
The platform to combat in-school violence and intimidation which was introduced at the end of the previous school year has already proved its usefulness. To date, user profiles have been created for 1,243 parents/guardians and 185 pupils, who have already submitted 285 and 43 reports respectively. The schools themselves have dealt with most of the cases, while the four-member action teams of the Educational Directorates have intervened in 17 cases.

7. New operating rules for schools
Greece is being added to the list of European countries which are prohibiting the use of mobile phone in schools. In this country, except for medical reasons, the open possession and use of a mobile phone will be prohibited throughout the duration of the teaching process, while pupils who do not comply will be subjected to a one-day suspension.

In the event that a pupil videos, photographs or records teachers or fellow pupils without their agreement or consent, they will be punished by a three-day suspension, while if it is done by consent they will be suspended for one to three days. If the photographing/videoing involves the personal data of third parties, then the Teachers’ Association will be obliged to impose a change of school environment.

The new operating rules for schools anticipate a tightening up of pedagogic and disciplinary measures. For example, a head teacher can decide to suspend a pupil for up to three days, instead of the one day which has applied to date. Also, the Teachers’ Association can decide on a suspension of up to five days, against the three days currently in force, while it has the facility to decide on a change of section or school environment, as well as exclusion from activities, cultural or athletic events, school outings and travel.

At the same time the rules for absences are changing. Attendance is considered satisfactory if absences during the school year amount to no more than 50, or when they do not exceed 114, of which more than 50 are justified. Late arrival in class is considered an absence.

In the event of damage or destruction, whether partial or total, of school buildings, spaces and logistical facilities provided to a particular pupil, the replacement cost is to be borne by the same (if they are adult) or by their parents or guardians.

8. Active citizen actions
Greece is the first country to harmonise its study programmes with the 17 UN Goals for Sustainable Development. The aim is for pupils to be educated in achieving well-being, care for the environment, social responsibility and creative thought.

Through skills workshops, the study programmes will be enriched by activities for countering in-school violence and intimidation, protection of the environment, social responsibility and helping their fellow citizens, while emphasis is given to school days devoted to animal welfare, sport, mental health, etc.

9. Vocational guidance in schools
By the end of the school year, all pupils of the 1st year secondary school will have the opportunity to discover their inclinations and their talents. Pupils will enter a personal code into an app, where they will be able to choose a vocational guidance company certified by the National Organisation for Certification of Qualifications & Vocational Guidance (EOPPEP). The service involves filling in a standardised questionnaire in digital form, and individual meetings with a specialised vocational guidance counsellor.

10. Information technology certificate
Information technology lessons in secondary school are being changed, with the updating of textbook contents and the introduction of a new certificate based on four axes: basic principles of computing, data manipulation and analysis, internet and networks, ethical/social aspects. The new IT books for the three secondary school classes will be available from this year in digital format and in paper from 2025/2026.

11. Literature
From the current school year the reading of whole texts is being introduced, instead of the extracts of texts used previously. In all classes from nursery school to 3rd year secondary school, one to three books will be distributed (according to class), which the pupils will use for assignments and specific activities.

Leading Greek and foreign authors will help the children to love books and develop their critical capacities and thought. The teachers will receive special training in how the classes are to operate, while the pupils will receive their books for reading along with their textbooks.

The same spirit is embodied in the “multiple-choice book”, which will be available in digital form from April 2025 and in printed form from September 2026. Through this, teachers and pupils will have multiple sources of learning at their disposal. For the multiple-choice book, 60 teams of authors are working on 187 teaching modules for primary and secondary education….
(Minedu.gov.gr)

What is the multiple-choice book?
“The multiple-choice book gives teachers the possibility of choosing the book from which they want to teach in class, from the approved books included in the Teaching Books Register (MDB), while at the same time the approved books will be available in a digital library, so that pupils can combine sources and in this way further cultivate their critical thought.
“The aim of the modification is a gradual move away from rote learning, with more than one text per knowledge subject, as well as the enrichment of the available teaching tools for teachers, who will be able to cover their pupils’ learning needs with the appropriate textbook.” (Iefimerida.gr)