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Volume 14, Issue 4
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PAGE PRACTICAL
INFORMATION REGIONAL
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Practical
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Implementation of
the Bologna Declaration: The Netherlands and Greece
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State of the Art of the Bologna Process in GreeceThe general elections in April, together with the appointment of a new minister of education, have produced a delay in the planning and implementation of initiatives aimed at facilitating the Bologna process in Greece. In the universities of course, the debate sparked by the Bologna Declaration has been brewing since the beginning of the current academic year. However, this debate has largely been confined to several meetings and forums, and has also been raised during the regular sessions of the Universities Rectors' Conference. Perhaps we should preface our remarks by saying that two years ago Greece was one of the countries that viewed the Sorbonne Declaration with caution and even suspicion. Hence the confusion over "what Sorbonne says and what it does not say" actually affected how people reacted to Bologna. One can say that the current debate in Greece over Bologna is focused on three points--all of which appear in the Bologna Declaration itself: The first point has to do with the idea of a new degree structure. In Greece, there is strong skepticism concerning the establishment of a bachelor's degree awarded after at least three years of study. This skepticism takes the form of strong opposition when the relevant discussions take place in technical universities and in faculties of engineering. It is quite interesting to add here that the opposition front includes all the relevant partners: Professors and students in addition to the Technical Chamber and the professional engineering unions The second point has to do with the internal structure of the Greek higher education system, which is divided into university and the non-university sectors. A certain amount of antagonism has emerged between the two systems. The reasons for this rivalry are complex and largely rooted in the Greek Constitution, and further exacerbated through several judgements issued by the Greek Supreme Court (Council of State). This point is indirectly related to the implementation of the Bologna Declaration, as introducing a new degree structure will affect both sectors of higher education. And this is still a problem in Greece. Editor's note: The rift between the university and non-university sectors can be largely attributed to recent discussions calling for the upgrading of the non-university sector. The third point has to do with the phenomenon of transnational education practices within Greece and its implications therein. It is well known that Greece attracts a large number of higher education exporters, mostly from the United Kingdom and United States. The establishment of foreign universities in Greece is viewed as promoting the privatization of higher education. Furthermore, serious concern is paid to the fact that the great majority of the Greek "colleges" affiliated with foreign universities through franchising contracts do not guarantee the appropriate quality of the programs being offered. Therefore, academic programs in Greece that are offered through foreign franchises are considered to be commercial enterprises, which do not meet government-approved standards. In spite of the situation, the Ministry of Education is preparing its agenda for the coming months, up until the Prague Conference. Our efforts will focus on the need for a wide dissemination of all the important documents concerning the Bologna Declaration throughout both the two sectors of higher education. During the summer months, the ministry is going to prepare a Greek translation of the Declaration together with the appropriate analysis. Before the end of December 2000, the ministry is going to organize one or two national seminars on the Bologna process in co-operation with the Universities Rectors' Conference and the Technological Institutes Presidents' Conference. Our intention is to invite to this seminar a number of key persons to give some of the keynote presentations on Bologna's main issues, as well as to present the relevant initiatives in one or two specific countries in the form of case studies. At the same time, the Ministry of Education is going to co-operate with Greek institutions of higher education, in order to assure their wider participation both in the thematic international seminars and in the academic meeting to be organized by CRE and the Confederation before the Prague meeting. The efforts of the Ministry of Education will further focus on the need for establishing the appropriate climate in the higher education system in Greece at the very first months of 2001, so that the discussions between the ministry and institutions of higher education will be much more effective than they are now. Finally, at the legislative level, the Ministry of Education is going to initiate discussions with the universities aimed at reforming three areas of higher education: "autonomy - accountability - quality". One of the major objectives of this reform will be to establish a national system for quality assessment and assurance in higher education, in accordance with the corresponding points of the Bologna Declaration and within the framework of the European Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education. At the same time, the Greek government will focus its energies on trying to resolve the dispute between the two sectors of higher education. |
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Higher
education in the Netherlands is provided by two types of institutions:
hogescholen (polytechnics), offering professional training; and
universities, which provide traditional university education. Two alternatives
to this system are the 
Education
in Greece is centralized and controlled by the state. Higher education
is provided by university-level institutions, called anotata ekpedeutika
idrimata (A.E.I.), and technical education institutes, known as anotera
ekpedeutica idrimata (T.E.I.). Greek law permits the establishment
of privately owned nursery, primary and secondary schools (all of which
are required to follow the national curriculum). However, the constitution
expressly forbids the establishment of private, degree-granting institutions
of higher education. The academic year runs from September to October
and is divided into two semesters.