He was defeated in the vote by majority, in first readingby the commission of Educational Affairs of the Parliament, the Ministry of Education’s bill, “Regulation of the Digital Education Portal and Digital Tutoring, professional guidance in secondary education, support measures for the education system in remote areas”.
The pros
They were in favor of the principle of the bill the deputies of the governing majority as well as independent MP Charalambos Katsivardas, while SYRIZA, PASOK-KINAL, EL.LY, Pleussi Eleftherias and Spartans, reserved for your vote in the plenary session and the KKE together with the New Left and NIKI declared that they would vote against.
It was preceded by the proposals, observations and objections of the competent extra-parliamentary bodies, which were invited to the competent Committee to present their views, as well as by the assurances of the Deputy Minister of Education, Ioannas Lytrivi, that “Your increasingly better and very useful opinions will be taken into consideration.”
At the same time, Ms Lytrivi dismissed objections and fears about the abolition of lifelong learning, stressing that “the superiority of face-to-face education over distance education is obviously indisputable”.
“I don’t think this should cross anyone’s mind. But the experience of the pandemic has shown us that if the technical tools and digital facilities didn’t exist, children would be left out of the learning process for about two years, with incalculable consequences,” he pointed out.
Ms. Lytrivi emphasized the provisions “to strengthen digital transformation by providing free digital tutoring and career guidance”, stressing that “all platforms will be fully accessible to people with disabilities”.
“We all agree, based on international data on youth unemployment and skills mismatches, that support is needed. This digital platform for school career guidance is one way, and yes, it will be free,” he said. “European funding of €15 million has already been secured over four years,” he added.
Responding to your president HELLOwho stated that all the major problems faced by private education workers remain unresolved, the Vice-Minister of Education countered that, “obviously, not all the problems in private education are being resolved”.
He said, “this is a fundraising bill that addresses urgent issues relating to all levels of education” and announced that “the Ministry of Education’s planning includes, a law for primary and secondary education will be presented in the autumn, where all requests will be evaluated and in cooperation with all competent bodies we will follow up on the relevant legislation”.
Finally, the Deputy Minister of Education denied a publication in the newspaper “Kathimerini” according to which “the way is open for the placement of secondary school teachers in the position of primary school teachers, initially in private schools”.
“If we intend to do something, it is reflected in this bill, so in order for you not to see something like that and for us not to have said something like that, it is worth saying that it is not our intention,” he said. “On the contrary, our intention is to regulate the unregulated issue of study centers in cooperation with the competent bodies,” added the deputy minister.
The agencies’ opinion
On behalf of the competent bodies, the president of OLME, Theodoros Tsouchlos, described “the digital tutorial as useful”, while expressing his disagreement “with the possible abolition of face-to-face teaching and its replacement by telecourses, which should be limited only to necessary cases”.
He expressed concern and for the “possibility, by ministerial decision, of expanding digital education with telecourses”, while highlighting that “the entire process of the digital basis for professional guidance and treatment of intra-school violence must remain in the State, and be further strengthened with public experts, counselors, psychologists and social workers and not hand over the implementation of the programs to private individuals”.
Also featured positive forecast of autonomous classes in border areas with the placement of three teachers.
O Spiros Marinispresident of the Greek Federation of Teachers, opposed the bill, accusing the Ministry of Education of “not taking into account any of the proposals of its 80,000 members, paving the way for the commercialization of education and discrediting teachers.”
“There are no measures to support teachers, nothing for non-appointed and substitute teachers or to protect infrastructure. Our disagreement on the selection criteria is recorded. This is a bill that starts with the hope of improving education but ends in the same impasse and on the path to privatization. Digital classrooms are promoted as a substitute for live education. The ministry sees recruitment as a cost, ignores important issues, allows non-transparent procedures to continue and has a logic of privatizing education. We demand schools with full staff. The online platform on school violence ignores the problems that generate it. It is yet another step in the privatization of education. Article 18 is the apotheosis of the cost-benefit logic. The promotion of distance learning is done with the logic of cuts, while secondments and transfers are done without any scientific documentation,” said Marinis, among other things.
O Ioannis FasoulakisPresident of POSEEPEA, spoke of the “cost-benefit logic of the bill”, emphasized “the need to equip schools at the beginning of the school year, abolish the institution of substitute teachers and establish permanent staff, guarantee the transfer of students by public bodies, and permanent education, with a transparency system that fully guarantees access to students with special needs, without cuts”.
O John Lymbeios, ESAmeA’s organizational secretary, described the new legislative initiative for the digital school as very positive, but, as he said, “it must also fully guarantee universal accessibility for people with disabilities, both in their education and in their transportation”.
“We raise the issue of access for people with disabilities to physical and electronic education. It is of the utmost importance to us that it covers not only students with disabilities, but also teachers and parents with disabilities.
There are serious deficiencies in its accessibility, while the relevant conclusion that was drawn is not being implemented,” he said.
Stavros Doulkeridis, representative of the Association of Graduate Engineers PADA, said he was optimistic about the project, noting that one of his constant requests was being met.
“It is now guaranteed that all graduates from the departments of the PADA engineering schools, who have completed a five-year degree, will be included in the duties of the departments of the AEI polytechnic schools. This change will be a guarantee for the new ESEAA, the end of our fair effort to exercise professional rights for thousands of PADA licensed engineers”, he emphasized.
O Ioannis Seimenispresident of POSDEP, argued that “the bill attempts to resolve minor issues, while serious problems, such as those related to academic scholarships, are not regulated”. He requested that higher education institutions play a key role in the process and that decisions be taken with the consent of the Senate.
O Spyros DoukakisPresident of the Institute of Educational Policy, spoke of “an excellent initiative that will bring many positive points to the educational community”, and described the digital portal as “substantial and high-quality support for students and teachers”.
She moved with the same positive spirit Georgia Reboutsikageneral director of the National Qualifications Certification and Professional Guidance Body, recalling that “the national center is being reinforced with the digital platform and this institution will only work positively for professional guidance”.
O George Melissariosrepresentative of the Federation of Private Educational Leaders of Greece, said that private education was not taken into account in the bill, while the articles are in favor of owners and not employees, while 1/3 of the sector was laid off.
“There is a culpable relationship of complicity with private schools, which allows them to operate without control. The creation of the digital platform goes in a positive direction, as long as there are provisions, labor relations are protected, incentives are given and it remains under state control – and the same should be true for the platform on school violence,” he noted.
O Nikos SkikosPresident of the Pan-Hellenic Union of Computer Science Teachers, stressed that “distance learning for school students has given a specific boost and can now be used, taking a bigger step also at the level of Digital Tutorial”.
“We should weigh the pros and cons. We believe that these articles lean towards the positive side, with regard to the digital transformation of education,” he added.
Thomas Gouvalis, Vice-President of the Panhellenic Union of Directors of Public Vocational Training Institutes, also spoke in favour of the project. He said: “The contribution of the Register, through interoperability between the other information systems that support the functioning of the (SAEK), will prove to be an important tool in practice – as in recent years it has provided important solutions and contributed to saving resources”.
“It will be possible, through the Registry platform, to hire trainers, assign courses, and each trainer will have an overview of how assignments are made, but also in a general way for the entire Registry operation, so that a green operation can be carried out”, he added.
Iliadis Christos, Vice-President of the Permanent Commission to Combat Violence, characterized the provisions to identify and eliminate violence in sport as “effective in their entirety”, stressing that Articles 84, 87 and 88 are very important, not only in terms of targeting and problem-solving, but also as a result of the know-how acquired in practice with the functioning of the committee, within the scope of Law 5.085/2024.
AMP Source