Frontal is the conflict between the government and the opposition with the start, in Parliament, of the debate on the bill on non-state universities, with the government talking about an emblematic reform, blaming SYRIZA and PASOK for their attitude. The bill is expected to be voted on on March 8.
“Let’s get a green SYRIZA as an opposition. We are not just talking about non-state universities. We are also talking about public universities. We have the same rhetoric, the same argumentation – empty of content and the same style, the style of nihilism and discredit. In a few minutes, Mr. Kaselakis condensed all this hypocrisy of a certain area”, pointed out the government representative Pavlos Marinakis.
The president of SYRIZA, Stefanos Kasselakis, expressed his categorical opposition to the bill, speaking to ERTNews, saying:
“Non-profit in Greece can become very insidiously profitable, let’s be honest (…) The purpose of private universities where there will be two-track students with other degrees in private and others in public, is very simply to bring an alleged franchise, as he says The bill”.
PASOK talks about the arrangement of interests, citing in its statement:
“What can we expect from the company of Megaros Maximos, whose only choice is business, as proved with the golden visa, the energy transition, health and education? Let them explain to the Greek people how it is possible for a for-profit fund and a for-profit educational institution abroad to establish a non-profit branch in Greece”.
“Mr. Mitsotakis wants private universities because a private company wants it. Mr. Androulakis wants private universities but he doesn’t want them now. He wants them later. And Mr. Kasselakis doesn’t know what he wants, anyway. Children are playing and Education is dying,” said the president of Hellenic Solution, Kyriakos Velopoulos.
In the meantime, political disputes were also intense within the parliament, with the Minister of Education Kyriakos Pierrakakis speaking of a “festival of hypocrisy” in response to the objections of the opposition.
“Because anyone who says we don’t have a private, practical, higher education is lying. Do we want to solve it? Do we want to put rules on it? We’ll work it out or pretend. Because at the end of the day this “Eldorado” has to be solved. In Greek universities there is a minimum admission basis. The catch here is that someone who cannot access the public university cannot enter the private one. Each school will define additional access conditions,” he said.
“The bottom line is that you want to build private universities with tuition fees. To upgrade the colleges without them meeting conditions” said SYRIZA MP Dionysis Kalamatianos.
The former prime minister, George Papandreou, spoke against the bill, but in favor of the revision of article 16.
“Instead of the government opening a debate on Article 16, it is opening a private debate. There are two reasons why he does it. First, reasons to impress. The world will say that new universities are rising. Inequalities will be created and it will not solve the problem of the universities and the second is the pressure of the lobbies” he said.
The minor opposition parties also opened fire against the government.
“You have been deeply obsessed, for many years, with article 16 and because you do not manage to change it, you are making tricks,” KKE member of parliament Afroditis Ktena emphasized.
“The government is trying to replace a constitutional article which is a state violation” underlined the MP of the New Left, Meropi Tzoufi.
“We cannot do two-speed universities. One with exams and the other without exams” said Spartans MP Yannis Kontis.
“The government considers that it can use EU legislation to bypass Article 16 of the Constitution,” said Niki MP Aspasia Kouroupaki.
“The spirit of the bill is that private universities and colleges are strengthened at the expense of the public university,” said the MP of Plefsis Eleftheria, Spyros Bibilas.
Source: ertnews
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