The Minister of Education, Religion and Sports, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, announced the change of all textbooks in school teaching and the introduction of “multiple textbooks, with the possibility of choosing between more than one book”.
“All school education books will change. Multiple books will be introduced, that is, teachers will be able to choose from a list of specific books to teach the course, a choice that is included, of course, in the same curriculum,” he told Mega. According to him, the pilot will start at the beginning of the 2025 school year and its free form will be introduced in education from 2026.
Aim to reduce the proportion of permanent and substitute teachers to 50%
Regarding the appointment of 10,000 permanent teachers, Mr. Pierrakakis referred to the peculiarity of the Greek education system with “substitute teachers” and reiterated the government’s intention “to reduce the ratio of permanent to substitute teachers to 50%, as stated by the Prime Minister”. At the same time, he defended the priority of appointments in secondary education for this year, stressing that “in the next period, priority will be given to primary education”.
“The problem of substitute teachers cannot be definitively solved. He can try to reduce their number to a minimum and deal very quickly with the gaps that arise for the various reasons that exist,” he added.
“Improvements to the National Examinations system”
“Changes in education will begin in September and will start in Kindergarten and end in Secondary Education,” noted the Minister of Education, insisting “on the need to combine these with improvements in the National Examinations system, but without abolishing the legacy of so many years and, above all, its immutable nature.”
The Minister of Education stated that the changes in schools will follow the OECD guidelines, so that Greek education is aligned with global standards and repeated the interventions that have already been made in the digital tutoring center and those that are planned for September with the entry into the Lyceum “live tutorial with questions and teaching staff who will be provided to the Ministry of Education”.
Looking for resources to modernize infrastructure
He also made special reference to infrastructure issues, stating that “in collaboration with the Ministries of the Interior and Finance, we are seeking funding to help municipalities improve school infrastructure, because it is not technologically possible for education to advance in 2025 with interactive tables and other changes and along with it there is the threat of loose plaster”.