Institutions In Greece Research Articles

Regional Dimensions of Entrance Examinations to Higher Education Institutions in Greece

Higher education entrance examinations in Greece have always attracted the attention of social researchers because of the impact they have had on Greek society. All analysis, however, tends to consider the candidates' choice and success, per option, as identical and uniform in all Greek regions. This impression is not confirmed by statistical data. Each region seems to adopt a particular way of behaving and to have a variable degree of success. This differentiation could mean that each region reacts differently to contemporary Greek reality. If this is true, what happens occurs without the knowledge of the Greek authorities and even against those authorities' official analysis and planning. Consequently, a problem seems to exist regarding the coordination of official educational policy with the informal differentiation prevailing in each Greek region. This problem may prove to be of particular importance in the future in view of the EU's emphasis upon the development of regional policy.

The Relationship between the State and the University in Greece

Greece has a long tradition in the fields of philosophical and scientific thinking and education, initiated by the famous philosophical schools of the classical period such as the Academy of Plato and the Lyceum of Aristotle. It is therefore not surprising that soon after the constitution of the new free Greek State, the first university institution, the University of Athens, was founded (in 1837). The Greek system of higher education developed rather slowly in the beginning. Two other institutions, the National Technical University and the School of Fine Arts, were founded in Athens almost simultaneously with the University of Athens; the former was granted university status only in 1914 and the latter in 1930. In 1920, two other academic institutions, the Athens School of Economic and Business Science and the Agricultural College of Athens, were established. The first Greek university outside the capital, the University of Thessaloniki, was founded in Northern Greece in 1925. Eleven years later another IHE, the Panteios School of Political Science, was established in Athens. Finally, the Piraeus and Thessaloniki Schools of Industrial Studies were founded in 1958. Thus, in the 1950s the Greek system of university education included three universities and six university-level schools, all of which were located in urban centres, either in the capital and Piraeus or in Thessaloniki. This fact has led many Greek peasants, who place a high value on educating their children, to see these cities as the best place to live, so that the exodus of the population from the rural areas to the above cities, between 1950 and 1960, can be partially ascribed to the centralisation of the universities as well as other government services in the three big cities. In the 1960s the second phase in the development of Greek higher education started. In fact, the social pressure for greater access to higher education, the need for further economic and cultural development (especially in outlying areas) and the demand to modernise the structure and organisation of the Greek universities led to a sequence of decisions. The main developments during this phase, which is still in progress, are the creation of a series of new universities in the regions and attempts at further modernisation of the structure and organisation of the Greek universities. From 1964 to 1984 eight new universitiesUniversity of Patras (1964), University of Ioannina (1970), University of Thrace (1973), University of Crete (1973), Technical University of Crete (1977), University of the Aegean (1984), Ionian University (1984) and University of Thessaly (1984) have been established, so bringing the number of higher education institutions in Greece to a total of seventeen.

A new law for higher educational institutions in Greece

A new law for higher educational institutions in Greece

Archaeology in Greece, 1947–1948

The year 1947–1948 has been one of limited activity. The presence of rebel bands continues to restrict movement in parts of mainland Greece and the Peloponnese; and the financial policy of the Greek Government has allowed little progress to be made this year in reconstituting the museums. The ban which the Ministry of Education imposed on excavation in Greece has not been withdrawn, though there are signs of a more liberal interpretation of it. On the other hand, the foreign archaeological institutions in Greece have intensified their activities within the limits imposed by present conditions; they have been happily strengthened by the founding on 10th May 1948 of a Swedish Institute in Athens.The Kerameikos Museum is now opened by appointment for students. The principal sculptures of the National Museum have been unpacked in preparation for replacement; an exhibition of early Greek sculptures and works of art was formally opened in the new year; it includes the Delphi charioteer and the new kouros from Anavysos. Additions to Mrs. Stathatou's private collection include a Late Geometric amphora and stamped gold head-band which were found in a grave in the Mesogaia, a small archaic bronze steer's head, and a grave relief of the later fifth century B.C.