Universities in turmoil

Students and academics are getting ready to plan new protests in September in response to the new bill passed by the House last week.

Student meetings will begin on Tuesday in order to plan the schools’ occupations, while Metsovio Technical University postponed its examination period from the 29th of August to the 5th of September. The University of Athens followed suit, postponing its exam period to the 9th of September.

The Senate of the Kapodistrian University states the following in its communiqué:

“The new higher education law, which was recently passed in Parliament, deconstructs the public and democratic university. It enters a business logic in the operation and orientation of universities. It degrades studies and the degrees awarded by dissolving the unity of scientific articles as expressed and served by the already existing educational and research structures. It promotes authoritarianism in higher education. It raises critical issues regarding the constitutionality of government and the free, democratic and academic function of the University.  It disconnects research from the University’s purpose. It deducts public funds from education, research and student welfare and removes the university asylum”.

Particularly, the Senate notes that “the law in its present form cannot have the consent of the Athenian university community. The University Senate will undertake to inform the Greek society about the dramatic consequences of the implementation of the law and will use every lawful and legitimate means to safeguard the constitutional operation of the University”.