THE SORRY STATE OF THE GREEK EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM:

C O N F I D E N T I A L ATHENS 000191


FOR EUR/PPD, EUR/SE AND ECA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/13/2019
TAGS: PGOV KAPO OPRC OEXC SCUL GR
SUBJECT: THE SORRY STATE OF THE GREEK EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM:
A CHALLENGE FOR U.S. PUBLIC DIPLOMACY PART I

Classified By: Ambassador Daniel V. Speckhard for reasons 1.4 (b) (d)


1. (C) Summary: This is the first of two cables on the
challenges created by the Greek educational system for U.S.
public diplomacy in Greece. This cable will describe the
state of the sector and current attempts to reform it. The
second cable will describe how we are reaching out to Greek
youth despite these obstacles.


2. (C) The Greek public educational system is in disarray,
the victim of years of fiscal neglect, political wrangling,
and a sad evolution to a lowest common denominator approach,
where the rights of students to demonstrate and disrupt
classes trump the rights of all to a quality education.
Politically-affiliated student groups wield increasing power,
including in decisions which in other countries are normally
left to school administrators. Those students who are
serious about trying to do well in school and gain admittance
to a good university are forced to enroll in costly
after-hours private lessons to succeed. Private schools and
universities face their own problems, as government after
government has bowed to political pressure to keep them --
and their degrees -- on the periphery, so as not to undermine
further the weak public educational system. Teachers are
underpaid, rectors and administrators are cowed, parents are
frustrated, and students are growing increasingly hostile and
defiant. These elements, we believe, played a role in the
violent youth demonstrations of last December.


3. (C) New Minister of Education Spiliotopoulos has pledged
to try and defuse this ticking time bomb with a series of
"clean slate" talks meant to smooth the relations between the
government, student groups and educators in the hopes of
finding solutions, but it remains to be seen whether the New
Democracy party has the mettle, means and muscle to implement
badly-needed reforms. End summary.

The Greek Public Educational System: Just How Bad Is It?
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4. (C) The Greek public school system has been on a
downward trajectory for some time now. Years of financial
neglect have taken their toll on structures, faculty and
curricula. Many public schools are old, and suffer from
vandalism and neglect. It is not unheard of to see a public
school with broken windows, insufficient heating, or
substandard plumbing. Special needs classes or facilities
are nonexistent, as are college advisors. Most public
schools do not offer extracurricular activities such as
sports or music as a positive outlet for youthful energy.
While the average EU country spends 5 percent of its total
budget on education each year, in 2008 Greece spent only 3
percent, down from 3.61 percent in 2004.


5. (C) Teachers are underpaid but heavily unionized. The
Greek Union of Secondary School Teachers -- OLME -- does not
hesitate to protest or to close schools via strike. Primary
and secondary school teachers take national exams to qualify,
but once they are hired, there is no mechanism by which the
state can evaluate their performance (the same holds true for
university professors). A typical starting salary for a
secondary school teacher is 1200 euro per month
(approximately 1600 dollars),while an average salary for a
high school teacher with ten years of experience is 1500 euro
per month (approximately 2000 dollars). Because of their low
salaries, teachers often go on strike to demand pay raises.
A large majority also resort to offering after-hours
tutoring, either on a one-on-one basis or through private
institutes ("frontistiria") to supplement their incomes.

Frontistiria and Parallel Education
--------------


6. (C) Frontistiria were first introduced in the 1970s as a
way to help underachieving students keep up with their
classmates. Today, an estimated 90 percent of Greek high
school students attend a frontistirio for at least one course
(particularly foreign languages and university exam
preparation). The Ministry of Education reports that
country-wide there are 2,642 frontistiria for university exam
preparation, and 7,360 foreign language frontistiria. Yearly
frontistiria fees, depending on student need, can run up to
more than 5000 euro (6600 dollars),making it extremely
lucrative for teachers and owners of frontistiria. Rates
vary according to subject, level, and location of the
frontistirio; university entrance exam classes can range
between 40-70 euro (53-93 dollars) per hour. According to
the Ministry of Education, in 2007 Greek families paid 569
million euro (approximately 757 million dollars) to
frontistiria to prepare their children for university
entrance exams, and 437 million euro (approximately 595
million dollars) for foreign language instruction at
frontistiria.


7. (C) The frontistirio phenomenon today is a
self-perpetuating black marketQ Underpaid public school
teachers have few incentives to work hard in the classroom
when they can make more money teaching in the frontistiria.
The level of instruction in the regular classroom decreases
and students pay less attention, and their performance
suffers. Parents, concerned that their children will not be
competitive, enroll them in frontistiria, where the level of
instruction (by the same teachers) and the level of learning
(by the same students) are higher. Unfortunately, despite
this parallel education, Greek students are not keeping up
with their European counterparts. A 2006 OECD study found
that, out of 27 EU countries surveyed, 15-year-old Greek
students came in 25th, 26th, and 27th in reading, science and
math, respectively.


8. (C) The place that the frontistiria have come to occupy
in Greek life -- employer, moneymaker and education provider
-- makes it exceedingly difficult for any government to raise
the issue of serious educational reform. Improving the
educational system would mean reducing the need for
frontistiria, with significant political cost to the
government and financial cost to the state.

Greek Universities: Powerful Student Unions and Asylum
-------------- --------------


9. (C) The situation at universities is also troublesome,
but for different reasons. The biggest challenge for Greek
universities is the overly powerful, politically-affiliated
student unions. Greece's university student movement has
steadily grown in power and influence since 1973, when Athens
Polytechnic University students became the symbol of popular
resistance to, and a catalyst for the downfall of, the
despised military dictatorship ruling Greece at the time.
The 1973 Polytechnic uprising, in which a number of students
were crushed by junta tanks on the Polytechnic grounds, gave
birth to the concept of university "asylum" still in effect
and used as political capital today. Incredibly, police and
other law enforcement officials are barred from entering any
public school or university premises, for any reason, unless
the district attorney's office requests and is given approval
for such action by the university's council (which includes a
student representative, so approval is never granted.) As a
result, abuse of asylum by criminals, anarchists and other
such groups has grown over the years. During the extended,
violent youth demonstrations in Athens and Thessaloniki in
December 2008, anarchists attacked police, destroyed and
looted businesses, set fire to vehicles, and then hid out
behind the safety of university walls, where they proceeded
to destroy libraries, vandalize classrooms and steal
computers. University contacts tell us that, during one
particularly violent night, a university rector and friendly
faculty formed a human chain around the university's library
to protect its rare books collection. The extent of the
destruction in December was so disturbing that public calls
for abolishment of asylum began. Even the PASOK party, a
traditionally staunch supporter of asylum, appears to
recognize that the situation cannot continue. Louka Katseli,
PASOK shadow Minister of Economy, recently told the PAO that
universities should begin employing campus police to stop the
looting and violence on campuses. More leftist parties,
including SYRIZA and the communist (KKE) parties, however,
have vowed to protect asylum at all costs.


10. (C) University student unions decide everything from
sit-ins (frequent) to faculty appointments (highly
politicized). Faculty, including rectors, are chosen by a
board where student union reps have equal say and veto power.
Different departments and schools are controlled by
different political groups, and university leadership is
often reluctant to take them on. In many cases, faculty
themselves belong to political parties and actively support
student unions, often depending on them for their promotions.


No Welcome Mat for the Embassy
--------------


11. (C) Anti-Americanism is still quite high in Greek
universities, and student demonstrations often lead past the
Embassy. The highly-politicized and often leftist nature of
many universities in Greece makes it dangerous for Embassy
staff to visit campuses and impossible for the Embassy to be
identified in joint programs. In the few instances where
friendly professors can be convinced to take advantage of
Embassy programs and assistance, we must keep a low profile
or risk disruption, or worse, of the program by the student
left. Even GoG officials have difficulty in entering
universities. Former PASOK Minister of Education Venizelos
tried two years ago, when he was simply a member of
parliament, to visit the Athens Polytechnic and meet with
students. He was rebuffed, and his bodyguards' vehicles were
vandalized.

Is Private Education the Answer to a Failing System?
-------------- --------------


12. (C) Article 16 of the Greek Constitution stipulates
that the Greek state is responsible for providing free higher
education, for all. This has been interpreted to mean that
only degrees from public institutions can be recognized by
the Greek state. Private colleges and universities in
Greece, including U.S.-affiliated schools, operate as
"learning centers," and their degrees are neither recognized
nor valid for employment in the public sector. The end
result is that graduates of private institutions are
effectively barred from seeking a license for certain
professions and cannot qualify at all for public sector
employment. EU Directive 2005/66 requires recognition of
professional qualifications of university graduates who earn
their degrees at local, private EU schools. Despite an EU
court-ordered decision that Greece must comply by October
2007, so far Greece has not acceded to the EU directive. If
Greece eventually complies with the EU directive but does not
also include American-affiliated institutions, those
institutions will be greatly disadvantaged -- something the
Embassy is working hard to avoid.


13. (C) The Embassy spends a considerable amount of time
advocating on behalf of U.S. institutions operating in
Greece. It is noteworthy that children of many Greek
officials from across the political spectrum attend private
secondary school and/or private university in Greece. The
GoG appears to recognize the value of the U.S.-style
education these institutions provide and has demonstrated
willingness to work with us to regularize the status of these
institutions and implement a transparent accreditation system
for recognition of degrees. The GoG prefers to keep these
discussions low-profile, however, given the expected negative
reaction from the left and from student groups about
perceived erosion of the "free and for all" educational
promise.

What About Reform?
--------------


14. (C) Educational reform has been a hot topic in Greece
for years. In January 2006, Prime Minister Karamanlis
announced a plan to reform higher education; the ensuing mass
student protests and occupQon of university buildings
closed schools for weeks at a time. Former Minister of
Education Marietta Yannakou lost her parliamentary seat in
the 2007 elections after pushing an unpopular university
overhaul. However, PM Karamanlis reiterated on January 25 of
this year that education reform remains a top priority for
his government. In an effort to boost the GoG's image on the
educational front after the December 2008 events, PM
Karamanlis replaced Minister of Education Stylianides with
Aris Spiliotopoulos. A young ND member who has served on
student unions and as ND press spokesman, Spiliotopoulos is
supposed to embody ND outreach to youth. Privately we have
been told by politicians on both sides of the spectrum that
Spiliotopoulos is considered a political lightweight.
Nevertheless, there appears to be broad agreement that the
situation cannot remain as it is. An MRB poll released on
February 9th showed that 85 percent of Greek respondents
believe there must be changes to the secondary education
system, and another 75.9 percent supported changes in the
university entrance exam system.

"Clean Slate Dialogue"
--------------


15. (C) Spiliotopoulos' first announcement as Minister of
Education was that the government is launching a new dialogue
with a "clean sate." The dialogue starts from square one
fo the restructuring of secondary education and th
university entry system. Since his entry on the job,
Spiliotopoulos has created a high-level cross-party
parliamentary Council on Primary and Secondary Education.
This council, which is charged with improving the university
entrance system, is chaired by well-respected, former
University of Athens rector Professor George Babiniotis.
However, its function overlaps with the portfolio of the
National Council of Education, created by the former Minister
of Education and headed by the equally-respected Thanos
Veremis. Already there has been conflict between the
chairmen of the two councils over who takes the lead in the
education reform dialogue.


16. (C) Veremis recently threatened he will leave his post
if the government is not serious about reforms, adding "they
may be playing for time." Veremis has proposed incorporating
public (free) frontistiria into high school and reducing the
number of classes taught from 12 to 6, so they can be covered
in more depth. Proposals by Babiniotis, with which Veremis
disagrees, would be to eliminate university exams altogether
and allow students to enter university based on their grades
in the final year of high school. Universities would then
evaluate a student after the first year in university.
Critics of both argue that this "top-down" approach to reform
is backward; that the educational system is fundamentally
flawed and requires a serious revamping from the bottom up,
starting with primary school. The president of OLME, Kostas
Maniatis, insists that the main problem with the Greek
secondary school system is not structural, but financial and
that the state should provide more funds instead of reopening
dialogue on reform. And as far as U.S.-affiliated
institutions are concerned, for the time being,
Spiliotopoulos has put the issue of accreditation of private
institutions on hold.

Comment
--------------


17. (C) Whatever steps the new Minister of Education takes
in the coming months, ND is still trying to recover from the
aftermath of the December demonstrations and a resulting drop
in the polls that has put opposition PASOK ahead by at least
three percentage points. While Spiliotopoulos may be
charismatic, his relative lack of experience may be a
hindrance. There is a widespread impression that the
selection of Spiliotopoulos as Minister of Education is an
indication that Karamanlis is not interested in real
educational reform but rather in keeping up appearances until
general elections. Spiliotopoulos' education reform gurus
are already feuding, and the teachers' union doesn't want to
talk about reform. The fact that the focus of discussions so
far is on entrance to universities rather than on the real
overhaul needed in secondary education and on a move at all
levels from rote learning to critical thinking indicates that
the government may miss yet another opportunity for real
educational reform.


SPECKHARD