Greece Allows Foreign Private Universities to Open Branches

The Greek Parliament approved a significant bill in the early hours of Saturday, allowing foreign private universities to establish branches in the country.

Critics say that this bill, which 159 lawmakers supported, will diminish the value of degrees issued by public universities, Erudera.com reports.

Student groups have opposed the move, organizing peaceful protests for several weeks. As Reuters reports, thousands of students gathered outside the parliament on Friday, holding banners that conveyed “no to private universities.”

However, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is optimistic that this bill will help bring back the thousands of Greek students studying abroad, and ease the country’s economic challenges. UNESCO’s data show that Greece has nearly 40,400 students enrolled at higher education institutions abroad.

According to the 2023 Open Doors Report by the Institute of International Education, a total of 2,539 Greek students studied at US universities and colleges in the 2022/23 academic year. This is a 5.4 percent increase from 2021/22 and a 12 percent increase from 2020/21.

Mitsotakis also said such a decision would strengthen Greece’s competitive position in higher education compared to the rest of the European Union countries.

The bill is part of a new reform agenda in Greece that also includes a bill on same-sex marriages, which was passed in February.

Higher education institutions in Greece operate as fully self-administrated legal entities of public law, meaning each institution is managed by important bodies established in compliance with specific legislation.

There are over 20 universities in Greece, all accredited by the state. They offer over 400 undergraduate programs in 427 departments, over 1,100 postgraduate programs, and 291 doctoral programs.

Greece also has several private universities, but the latter are not allowed to operate independently under the constitution.

Data from the National Higher Education Authority (ETHAAE) indicate that, as of 2021, nearly 680,000 undergraduate and 120,000 postgraduate students attended Greek universities.

Nonetheless, despite the large number of students enrolling at universities, only a few obtain a diploma. In a previous statement, ETHAAE President Pericles Mitkas said the share of students graduating from universities about those enrolling at a university is about 50 percent.

“While the student population in Greece remains among the largest in Europe and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the number of graduates is lower. In 2019/20, while about 87,000 new students were admitted, about 44,000 graduated,” Mitkas had said.

Greece also attracts many international students, most of whom come from Cyprus.

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