Educational reforms in draft bill essential to meet the demands of modern education
File Photo: According to Kerameus, the private sector contributed “decisively and in multiple ways,” providing free services and equipment. ANA-MPA/Alexandros Beltes
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Talking to the Athens-Macedonia News Agency about the education ministry’s sweeping draft legislation covering all levels of learning, Education Minister Niki Kerameus on Saturday explained that it aims at a “bottom-to-top” overhaul of the current system.
“We must move forward. More resources, new skills, more efficient tools and processes, equal opportunities – in step with international education trends – for the benefit of all,” she said.
Replying to opposition criticism over the time chosen to unveil the draft bill for public consultation, Kerameus said that the timing was dictated by the need to organise and set up the next school and academic year. She also rejected criticism that it was a return to an exam-centred system, noting that seven new examinations in high school on certain key subjects “help the learning process and are balanced.”
On the success of distance learning and its possible future use in the educational process, the minister said a team of experts was being set up to prepare a cohesive plan to digitally enhance education, extending and redefining existing actions and capitalising on past experience.
Asked when schools will reopen and on what terms, Kerameus said the priority will be school leavers and that the ministry was awaiting for the experts’ recommendations before making the measures public, noting that precise safety instructions will be issued for classrooms and how the safety rules must be followed by teachers, pupils and students.
Regarding the necessity of the new round of reforms, she noted that the current curriculum largely dates back to 2000 and will now be updated, with new books at all levels, combined with an evaluation of both teachers and schools, investment in teacher training and the promotion of openness and autonomy in Greek universities.
“The new bill, therefore, is made imperative by the modern demands of education; because our children deserve better and our teachers deserve better and the bar for our education system is high,” she said.
Source: ANA – MPA
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