E. Policy of EU and government. Other political forces.
The Maastricht treaty does not anticipate the possibility of intervention of communal bodies in educational systems of state-members. Their part keeps to training matters, though; they in fact set directions that are next realised under the status quo of severe control of all governments. Besides, that is the basic reason why the whole project appears as “initiative’’ of Ministers of Education of EU countries and several co-active countries. Simultaneously, there is an overwhelming attempt to be presented as an objective, independent by social definitions progress, the scientific cover of which is administered by leadership of communal University Institutions that participate without severe objections. Leadership of Powerful Universities supports this, since institutions will be amplified through this procedure. Leadership of the rest supports this, because they are obeisant to the system of dependence of their institutions on the state and communal organs. During this procedure, there is an aim to embody the students’ movement. In correspondence with Ministers’ Conference there are held, Conferences of students’ syndical organisations. Simultaneously, in several European countries, propagandistic seminars and seminars for preparing university community to accept standards are held, in the limits of a free and democratic, supposedly, exchange of opinion, like a current meeting held in our country. The component of the policy of EU’s staff is the utilisation of corresponding to T.E.I. institutions, as a parapet for supporting this policy, with their supposed equivalence with university level as an exchange.
The Greek government aligns with the basic planning of the EU. So, it revised and adjusted its basic programming to the needs of the upcoming Prague Process. Today, the government suggests the law for “step-up” of T.E.I. and evaluation of quality of Higher Education instead of the law for graduate studies, that is temporarily frozen, so it can bring it back, reformed in a more reactive direction.
In this way, Greek government tries to assure the alliance of T.E.I. in its uneducational plans, breaks the students’ movement and transfer the problem to a contradistinction between University and T.E.I. by overshadowing its meaning and mostly to mislead the common view that everything else but debasement is pursued. On the other hand, the government broadens Higher Education by the “step-up” of T.E.I. Simultaneously, it tries to defame as “craft guild” and “vested interest” every voice that justifiably stands up against the demolition of out Higher Education. By putting first the “step-up” of T.E.I. aims at making evaluation of Institutions a lot easier with the pretence of keeping the higher level of education away from T.E.I. that don’t fulfil the criteria.
The Government’s general planning is the gradual and segmental promotion of standards through several lows and settings (“step-up” of T.E.I., evaluation, graduate studies, managerial and economic self-existence), so as their final goal may be interfused and their rebuttal from forces that take offence by those, may be harder. A characteristic of the misleading policy of government is that it seems to disagree, withstand and finally achieve profits for our country’s Higher Education, just as the one of the supposed maintenance of four-year duration of studies. Though, simultaneously, through other adjacent ways, mainly through EU’s programs - as EΠΕΑΕΚ, by which restructure of study schedules towards Bologna directions is being funded - goes for application of standards. Any relaxation cannot exist in relation with its intentions.
Other political forces, ND and SYN as well, have not cited their opinion about the Bologna decisions. Silence means agreement. What proves this is that the president of ND in a current preconvention meeting about education, avoided to site his opinion and recasted the basic directions of reformation as positions of his own party. He repeated the position of ND about foundation and function of non-state, private universities, and pointed out the need for connection between education and “market’s demands” and for emphasis in “lifelong learning”. And all these surrounded by the “imperialistic” vision of the native ruling class, that is that “Greece, instead of exporting students and importing subculture, it can import students and export civilization”! In terms of problems in T.E.I., the ruling class agrees with the governmental confrontation since its only objection is that evaluation will be done before the “step-up” and not afterwards.
SYN sited for the input of T.E.I. in University Education, without them being higher institutions. By this position, SYN supports the governmental policy about maintenance of inequality between Universities- T.E.I. and creation of a mish-mash in University Education. Simultaneously, SYN detaches the supposed step-up of T.E.I. by Bologna decisions and their consequences on Higher Education.
The way that ND and SYN confront the matter of T.E.I. is an accessional proof of their assent in Bologna decisions.
Student movements PASP and DAP, coordinate with the policy of their parties, keep a position of ignorance and debasement of the issue. Simultaneously, though, with the pretence of problems in T.E.I., create an opportunistic logic, by diversifying their position depending on the place (for the step-up in T.E.I., against it in Universities).
The University community and especially university tutors, the didactic and scientific staff of Universities and T.S.I, that are in the position to understand the complexity and size of the problem, must not remain unconcerned, insensitive or tolerant to the crime that is committed against Universities and their graduates. They must not allow the allegiance and supersession of Greek Universities that lead the whole educational system to debasement and sentences our country to a secondary and subordinate role. The profits of university community meet with society’s needs and are opposed to this policy. So, university community must strengthen their initiatives, play the leading part in the revelation of the uneducational, unscientific, unpopular character of governmental policy in people. They must not succumb in false promises that their Institution will possibly be excluded from modulations, or in blackmails that will be eliminated financially. They have the power and authority, if they want, to stop the undercut of every perspective of development of our country’s productive forces for people’s benefit.
The Greek government aligns with the basic planning of the EU. So, it revised and adjusted its basic programming to the needs of the upcoming Prague Process. Today, the government suggests the law for “step-up” of T.E.I. and evaluation of quality of Higher Education instead of the law for graduate studies, that is temporarily frozen, so it can bring it back, reformed in a more reactive direction.
In this way, Greek government tries to assure the alliance of T.E.I. in its uneducational plans, breaks the students’ movement and transfer the problem to a contradistinction between University and T.E.I. by overshadowing its meaning and mostly to mislead the common view that everything else but debasement is pursued. On the other hand, the government broadens Higher Education by the “step-up” of T.E.I. Simultaneously, it tries to defame as “craft guild” and “vested interest” every voice that justifiably stands up against the demolition of out Higher Education. By putting first the “step-up” of T.E.I. aims at making evaluation of Institutions a lot easier with the pretence of keeping the higher level of education away from T.E.I. that don’t fulfil the criteria.
The Government’s general planning is the gradual and segmental promotion of standards through several lows and settings (“step-up” of T.E.I., evaluation, graduate studies, managerial and economic self-existence), so as their final goal may be interfused and their rebuttal from forces that take offence by those, may be harder. A characteristic of the misleading policy of government is that it seems to disagree, withstand and finally achieve profits for our country’s Higher Education, just as the one of the supposed maintenance of four-year duration of studies. Though, simultaneously, through other adjacent ways, mainly through EU’s programs - as EΠΕΑΕΚ, by which restructure of study schedules towards Bologna directions is being funded - goes for application of standards. Any relaxation cannot exist in relation with its intentions.
Other political forces, ND and SYN as well, have not cited their opinion about the Bologna decisions. Silence means agreement. What proves this is that the president of ND in a current preconvention meeting about education, avoided to site his opinion and recasted the basic directions of reformation as positions of his own party. He repeated the position of ND about foundation and function of non-state, private universities, and pointed out the need for connection between education and “market’s demands” and for emphasis in “lifelong learning”. And all these surrounded by the “imperialistic” vision of the native ruling class, that is that “Greece, instead of exporting students and importing subculture, it can import students and export civilization”! In terms of problems in T.E.I., the ruling class agrees with the governmental confrontation since its only objection is that evaluation will be done before the “step-up” and not afterwards.
SYN sited for the input of T.E.I. in University Education, without them being higher institutions. By this position, SYN supports the governmental policy about maintenance of inequality between Universities- T.E.I. and creation of a mish-mash in University Education. Simultaneously, SYN detaches the supposed step-up of T.E.I. by Bologna decisions and their consequences on Higher Education.
The way that ND and SYN confront the matter of T.E.I. is an accessional proof of their assent in Bologna decisions.
Student movements PASP and DAP, coordinate with the policy of their parties, keep a position of ignorance and debasement of the issue. Simultaneously, though, with the pretence of problems in T.E.I., create an opportunistic logic, by diversifying their position depending on the place (for the step-up in T.E.I., against it in Universities).
The University community and especially university tutors, the didactic and scientific staff of Universities and T.S.I, that are in the position to understand the complexity and size of the problem, must not remain unconcerned, insensitive or tolerant to the crime that is committed against Universities and their graduates. They must not allow the allegiance and supersession of Greek Universities that lead the whole educational system to debasement and sentences our country to a secondary and subordinate role. The profits of university community meet with society’s needs and are opposed to this policy. So, university community must strengthen their initiatives, play the leading part in the revelation of the uneducational, unscientific, unpopular character of governmental policy in people. They must not succumb in false promises that their Institution will possibly be excluded from modulations, or in blackmails that will be eliminated financially. They have the power and authority, if they want, to stop the undercut of every perspective of development of our country’s productive forces for people’s benefit.
e-mail:cpg@int.kke.gr