Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-06-21

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Gov�t unveils draft bill for univ. reforms

[01] Gov�t unveils draft bill for univ. reforms

A key focus of the proposed changes appeared to be eliminating the phenomenon of so-called "eternal students" by placing a maximum limit on the number of years in which students must obtain their first degree.

Yiannakou underlined that the changes were exclusively designed to upgrade state universities and were in no way connected to a possible change in Article 16 of the Greek constitution to allow the establishment of private, non-profit universities.

"The good state university primarily supports the young men and women of the economically weaker classes and is a serious mechanism for redistributing income, given that those with economic power can send their children to any foreign university they want," she noted.

The changes proposed by the ministry include:

Measures to boost the independence of tertiary education institutes through four-year academic programmes, including measures to increase their financial independence like the abolition of spending inspections, tax incentives and relief and others.

The bill also refers to measures for the support of students, such as studies advisors, reciprocal scholarships and student loans with no interest and the provision of free papers from bibliographies provided by the universities themselves.

University asylum is made stronger, according to the ministry, with the rules remaining as they are today except that the Rectors' Council will henceforth be responsible for lifting asylum and only in the presence of a judicial official at all times.

With regard to the maximum length of studies, the ministry proposes allowing students that enrol after the bill is passed to complete their first degree studies within the minimum number of terms required plus 50 percent extra, so that the average four-year degree can be completed in six years. An additional year can also be given at the discretion of the university itself.

Students will, however, have the option of suspending their studies for an indefinite period of time and then applying to resume them at a later date.

For students that have already begun their studies when the bill is passed, the ministry proposes that they should have an additional five years to complete their studies, in addition to the minimum years of study required for their degree.

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