PART 1 of Nikos Filis' SKAI TV interview

PART 2 of interview.

08-08-16 An overhaul of high schools, reforms from kindergarten to high school planned

In a wide-ranging interview with private SKAI TV and journalist Vasilis Lyritzis, Education, Research and Religious Affairs Minister Nikos Filis covered all the bases in unfolding the government’s sweeping educational reform plans, many element s of which were hammered out in the National Dialogue on Education.

 Regulating labour relations at private schools, reform of  hourly school programmes and creation of the uniform all-day primary school  nationwide, plans for mass hiring of substitute teachers, radical reform of the high school structure (which for decades have operated as mere university prep  test centres, Filis said), major reform at the country’s  vocational  high schools  (whose students in the past were handled  by the system as  “children of a lesser God”, the minister said), and the ministry’s emphasis on expanding special education, were among the reforms outlined in the interview.

State oversight of private schools

Asked about opposition criticism that the government is enacting  a “sovietization” of education due to additional state oversight of labour relations at private schools and the requirement that these schools declare supplemental programmes so that the work income may be taxed and insurance contributions paid, Filis said these measures are designed to guarantee the basic rights of private school teachers. “Today, the rules of private enterprise apply, as principals can fire whomever they want whenever they like,” Filis said, noting that teachers now can even be fired mid-year, with no justification offered.

The labour conditions and the declaration of all programmes at private schools is necessary because the state must guarantee the credibility of private school diplomas. In the past there were special committees comprised of both state and private school teachers that evaluated students’ diplomas, then that was replaced by associations of teachers at each school, and Filis said that if these teachers operate under conditions of blackmail, pressures or the threat of firing [often with the aim of grade inflation], they cannot guarantee the trustworthiness of the degree.

“The private school is not a routine business like a supermarket or a kiosk. It is an expression of the [constitutional] right to education. The state oversees both private and public school education. Our bill says all firings of private school teachers must be justified, with a reason offered. The teacher has a reputation, a presence, a relationship with their students, parents and colleagues. You cannot sack him or her half way through the school year and just say ‘leave’,” Filis said.

He noted that in some cases labour inspectors who visited a school after a teacher complaint were barred from entering by private security guards.

Filis said that he would be open to creating an independent authority to evaluate diplomas and oversee such private school labour issues, as long as all other political parties agreed.

As for the new requirement that private schools declare extra-curricular after-hours programmes, Filis said that the ministry will not regulate the extra-curricular programme of any school , but it wants to  ensure that teachers  be paid and taxed for the additional work. He said that many schools hide such programmes to avoid taxes.

Changes in school schedules

Nikos Filis said that the reduction of class hours   – from seven hours a day to six across the board – “The seven-hour day is counter-productive [pedagogically], especially in schools with non-functional building facilities.” -  is a pedagogical choice, as is the move to cut one hour of instruction weekly in ancient Greek and add an extra hour in morn Greek.  The rationale here is that youngsters today have a much weaker command of spoken Greek than in the past, and it is more important to remedy that than to maintain the teaching hours in ancient Greek.  “We must see why our children do not speak the living Greek language well,” he said.

As of this academic year, there will be a six-hour school day, followed by an optional all-day programme, with activities until 4pm. Until now, only about one third of schools nationwide offer an all-day programme.

Filis said the ministry has already secured the funding to hire 20,800 substitute teachers in September – out of 93,000 applicants - a number he said is similar to that in the past few years.

Beginning in 2017, the ministry plans a mass hiring of 20,000 tenured teaching positions over a period of three years. “We would have done it this year if the troika [Greece’s creditors] had not delayed their memorandum evaluation,” Filis noted

National dialogue on educational reforms

The minister said that education reforms proposed in the national dialogue are being implemented step-by-step, including radical reform of junior high schools (gymnasia) and high schools (lykeia), and that daily operational needs at schools do not permit the ministry to wait for the final, comprehensive plan.

“Junior high schools must stop being used an exam centre.  Students are now tested in 15 courses! We are limiting that number,” he said, asserting that successive governments over decades bear a heavy responsibility for the decline of junior and senior high school education. 

“The school will be based on class work, not on exams. We have increased the useful annual teaching time, either by abolishing a number of exams or lengthening the school year.  In addition, we are introducing new subjects, such as sexual education, and courses on addictions and automobile driving behavior, while reforming all course programmes, from language to mathematics and science,” Filis said.

The minister also painted a grim picture of high school education, largely due to its transformation into a mere prep centre for university admission. “The high school has reached the point of not operating as a school. The third year of high school [lykeio] is virtually non-existent. The reform of the high school programme will be combined with changes in university entry procedures,” Filis said.

 He added  that there are thoughts of establishing in the longer run, if a series of preconditions are met,  a four-year junior high school with a breadth of general education courses, followed by a two year high school [lykeio] programme which will offer specialisation, as in certain other European countries.    

Reforming vocational high schools

“There is a huge problem with special education at vocational high schools [EPAL]. These students are treated as ‘children of a lesser God’,” Filis said.

He announced that funds have been secured for vocational programmes for EPAL graduates, while there will also be an overhaul of the curriculum.

Whereas now 15-year-old students must declared their specialisation in the first year of studies, the new curriculum will more of a  general education first-year programme, aimed at technical education. In the second year students will choose their subject area, and in the third year they will complete their specialisation.

In addition, an internship programme will be set up in cooperation with the state OAED Labour Bureau, where EPAL graduates will be paid and receive social insurance coverage.

The ministry’s aim is to gradually improve the EPAL programme to put it on a par with general high schools and thus facilitate tertiary education prospects

Expanding Special Education

Nikos Filis stressed the ministry’s strong  emphasis on the importance of bolstering special education. For starters, in the upcoming 2016-2017 academic year there will be a 50 percent increase in the number of special education substitutes hired, and 400 specialised integration classes, as “the state must  promote inclusive teaching”.

There will be a special education teacher training programme and, for the first time, the ministry will establish special education classes in high schools and junior high schools.