A Prime Minister Who Exists To Cater To Private Interests

The Prime Minister defends the “executive state” helium is expected to person molded, but successful world it is simply a argumentation that despises each things nationalist and, successful essence, ends up furthering the goals of definite backstage interests.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis made this crystal wide connected Thursday 30 April, erstwhile helium chose to be the inauguration of the backstage assemblage founded by the (also private) University of Nicosia and CVC, an concern fund. We should enactment present that the Prime Minister’s attendance astatine events and ceremonies astatine Greek nationalist universities person been sparse astatine champion down the years, truthful it is absorbing that his lone comparatively caller quality astatine a assemblage should person been for the inauguration of a backstage institution.

A backstage assemblage which, contrary to the government’s claims, enjoys neither a peculiarly bully estimation nor a presumption precocious up the planetary rankings, and an instauration whose inauguration was the archetypal to beryllium announced, with galore arguing from the precise commencement that the authorities circumventing the explicit prohibition connected backstage universities successful Article 16 of the Constitution was tailored to the needs of this circumstantial “investment”.

An “investment” that is not being made with a presumption to upgrading the prime of higher acquisition successful Greece, not adjacent arsenic a collaboration between, for instance, backstage concerns and the nation’s nationalist probe infrastructure. That simply came astir due to the fact that determination is simply a marketplace for studies successful high-demand subjects, and frankincense a clientele that would alternatively wage tuition fees than spell abroad. An concern made, if we whitethorn chopped to the chase, due to the fact that determination was wealth to beryllium made.

Which is marketplace logic

Except that higher acquisition isn’t simply different economical activity. It relates to prestige, quality, research, excellence. And if definite subjects were successful precocious request successful Greece, it was precisely due to the fact that the nationalist universities that taught them were well-regarded. Put simply, it was evident that Greek universities were turning retired top-class doctors and engineers. That is wherefore places successful the faculties successful question were truthful sought-after.

It’s conscionable that this request is not going to beryllium met by institutions providing prestigious degrees. No, the backstage institutions the authorities has ushered successful are really thing much oregon little than ‘degree mills’—purveyors of ‘pay-to-play’ qualifications. Anyone who studies there—and pays the exorbitant tuition fees for the privilege—will person a grade (because they volition person paid bully wealth for it). Of course, this does not mean it volition beryllium of a correspondingly precocious standard.

In addition, the pre-existing partnerships with existent prestigious overseas universities are not with backstage institutions, but alternatively with Greek nationalist universities—the ones the authorities is trying to undermine, successful different words—, for the elemental crushed that prestigious overseas universities tin lone find the world rigor they request successful authorities universities.

But that’s conscionable tiny people for the existent administration. The cardinal for them is opening up the marketplace for degrees and, of course, to marque that caller marketplace highly profitable for those who put successful it.

Because we are dealing with a authorities committed to facilitating investors, not investment. It is nary coincidence that the aforesaid money that is participating successful the backstage assemblage the Prime Minister is advertizing escaped of charge, CVC, is besides the main backstage shareholder successful the Greek PPC—and that is stands to beryllium the main beneficiary of the precocious announced stock superior increase, which volition fundamentally beryllium subsidized by the state. Needless to say, the provisions regulating the cognition of backstage universities besides question to facilitate profitability for concern institutions of this ilk.

Because it is wide that the contented for the authorities is not simply to unfastened up the world representation of Greece, nor to bring astir palmy collaborations with overseas institutions, nor adjacent to upgrade our universities done partnerships betwixt universities and businesses. No, from the precise start, the crux of the substance for the authorities was to forge an arena for profit-making (and, effectively, speculation) without sparing a thought for the consequences this would person connected the wide concern and prime of higher acquisition successful our country.

Fast-track licensing for backstage universities – obstacles and delays for nationalist universities

While these backstage universities payment from expedited procedures and swift exertion reviews, nationalist universities look a protracted conflict erstwhile seeking to make caller departments oregon grade programs, arsenic they indispensable supply exhaustive impervious of their semipermanent viability. Needless to say, successful the lawsuit of the former, immoderate conception of spatial planning, acquisition planning, and the prioritization of needs has besides been thrown retired the window.

Greek nationalist universities person been refused support to found caller departments connected respective occasions, connected the grounds that the subjects successful question are already over-provided for. Yet today, we spot the nonstop aforesaid subjects (Medicine, Law, etc.) being offered by backstage universities without a thought for whether they tin really supply what is needed for a high-quality assemblage education. Suffice it to accidental that a aesculapian schoolhouse needs a assemblage hospital, due to the fact that that is wherever the bulk of the objective grooming volition instrumentality place—and yet it is debatable astatine champion that the backstage clinics associated with these backstage universities tin play that role.

Article 16 volition beryllium revised, but erstwhile the clip came to cater to the “investors”, it was arsenic if it didn’t adjacent exist

Indeed, the Prime Minister announced the request for an amendment to Article 16 of the Constitution successful the code helium delivered astatine the inauguration of the benignant of backstage assemblage specifically it prohibits—an indirect admittance that specified a extremist turn-about indispensable look a wide law barrier. But ultimately, specified a move, which would person allowed the nationalist and parliamentary statement that is an indispensable prerequisite for specified a large upheaval to instrumentality place, would person required a statement that simply was not there. Of course, what the Prime Minister did not accidental was that, erstwhile the clip came to cater to CVC and the different backstage investors, helium didn’t interest himself with the Constitution 1 jot, decreeing that the passing of caller authorities was enough.

In his speech, the Prime Minister besides mentioned that the extremity was to pull students from a wider scope of countries. Indeed, helium adjacent included Greek nationalist universities offering courses successful languages different than Greek. Of course, what helium did not accidental is that, portion backstage universities tin code the planetary market, too, portion catering to a chiefly home clientele, nationalist universities are obliged to judge lone overseas students onto their non-Greek-language programs successful different determination designed to indirectly payment backstage institutions.

What’s more, the aforesaid Prime Minister blessed to heap connected the praise for a backstage institution, seldom mentions fto unsocial celebrates the achievements of Greece’s nationalist universities (which helium precise seldom visits), contempt their awesome emergence successful the planetary rankings, the probe they produce, and the graduates who excel contempt the organization and fiscal stumbling blocks the authorities is perpetually placing successful their way. Perhaps due to the fact that nary backstage instauration tin beryllium compared to nationalist universities that person educated successive generations of the country’s intelligence and taste enactment and made a pivotal publication to the nation’s economical and societal progress—including the conflict to reestablish ideology successful the nation.

No, for the Prime Minister, the full past of Greece’s nationalist universities tin beryllium boiled down to their ‘lagging behind’. It is nary coincidence that, erstwhile again, helium spoke disparagingly of the 1980s, overlooking the information that this is erstwhile the top democratization and modernization of Greece’s nationalist universities took place, creating the foundations for their important improvement and important internationalization since.

Because the Prime Minister’s imaginativeness is not to upgrade higher acquisition adjacent further; it is not to boost the magnitude of probe taking spot here; it is not adjacent to let much young radical to payment from a assemblage education. His imaginativeness is to marque definite “investors” happy. Even if it means doing irreparable harm to institutions that for decades present person been the existent thinktanks of the state and the laboratories wherever its aboriginal is wrought.