Paideia ATHENS NEWS FRIDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2009 P8-P9 Higher education ‘not a public good’ Greeks going international Speaking to the Athens News, economics professor George Bitros uses the rigorous logic Giving students an edge: The International School IB offered since Baccalaureate leads to final examinations of his academic discipline to explain why good ACS Athens January 1976 private universities could pull Greek higher and qualifications widely-recognised by Anatolia College October 1997 education out of its present morass leading universities around the world Campion School December 2000 Costeas-Geitonas April 1994 School By Kathy Tzilivakis Doukas School December 2001 By Dimitris Yannopoulos GROWING number of Greek parents are Geitonas School March 1995 HE INTERVENTION of George Bitros joining more than a million others around the HAEF (Psychico College) June 1996 in the debate about the pros and cons of world and enrolling their children in schools IM Panayotopoulou May 1996 private higher education has acted as a A offering the International Baccalaureate - a School catalyst for the rigorous debunking of T standardised, internationally-recognised International School February 2000 article 16 orthodoxy by state university diploma. But with its reputation for rigour, the of Athens academics over the past decade. Bitros programme isn’t for anyone. Moraitis School December 1984 is a highly acclaimed emeritus professor The IB degree is best suited to students Nea Genia Ziridi May 2006 of economics at the Athens University of planning on attending university abroad and Pinewood School June 1999 Economics and Business (formerly those who are constantly on the move because in Thessaloniki ASOEE). His numerous articles in the curriculum is the same from Athens to s A European pupil’s dream to graduate from Harvard r St Catherine’s British e March 2002 Athens daily To Vima and other Dublin to Taiwan. t u Embassy School publications have virtually sealed the may start from the International Baccalaureate e There are currently more than 753,000 IB R informed debate in favour of university students at 2,732 schools in 138 countries privatisation. His views are outlined in a around the world. Thirteen of these schools are have the prerequisites as a student to go reported on recent research carried out by theory of knowledge,” she said. “It also involves seminal monograph of January 2006, in Greece. ACS Athens was the first to offer through it. So we are trying to protect the London-based ACS International Schools, community involvement.” “Why and which Reform in Higher the programme more than 30 years ago. students instead of exposing them to potential whose schools have taught the IB for more From Angola to Zimbabwe, the IB works Education” (Γιατί και ποιά “The IB programme is good for those who failure.” than 30 years. The findings of the research with 2,732 schools in 138 countries to offer IB μεταρρύθμιση στην Ανώτατη aim to study abroad,” said Julia Tokatlidou, IB suggest an IB diploma is the most respected programmes to approximately 753,000 Εκπαίδευση), which is available on the programme director at ACS Athens. “It More challenging qualification among university admissions students. In Greece, there are 13 IB schools internet in Greek. provides a benchmark for standards which are In general, the IB diploma programme is officers. Universities reportedly welcome the offering one or more of the three IB diploma Athens News: Professor Bitros, you uniform. This means that evaluation for considered more academically challenging and independent thinking and creativity the IB programmes. have argued in several articles that higher admission is done better. It has worldwide broader than a regular American high school programme develops in students. The International Baccalaureate education (unlike, for example, defence) uniform standards and is recognised by all diploma and three or four A-levels under the The IB is based on a curriculum developed Organisation plans to expand capacity over the s r e is not a public good because demand for t universities.” British system. by the International Baccalaureate next 12 years in preparation for an estimated u it can be served by a private market. But e Organisation, an educational foundation with 2.5 million students and 10,000 IB programmes R According to John Papadakis, director of In a December 2006 article in Time / h then why is Greece the only country in the t headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. worldwide in 2020. u enrolment management and community affairs magazine titled “How to bring our schools out m world where something like article 16 in r at ACS, it’s a demanding two-year curriculum. of the 20th century”, the IB diploma According to Tokatlidou, the IB In Greece, the two-year diploma e W our constitution - prohibiting private “We promote it only to those students that are programme is described as “a rigorous, off-the- programme provides a more holistic approach programme costs about 28,000 euros. Students n a universities - remains in effect for nearly f really worthy of getting through it and are able shelf curriculum recognised by universities to learning. “They take courses from six with a high score on their IB diploma are often e t 40 years? Why hasn’t the dynamic of a S to do it because the programme is academically around the world”. different subjects, they conduct independent preferred by leading universities abroad over private university market in Greece Competitive excellence at the top of the league: Oxford University (R) row on their way to winning the 155th annual Boat Race against Cambridge intense,” explained Papadakis. “You have to Last week, the UK’s daily Independent research and they write an essay about the candidates with a traditional diploma. managed to overturn this brainchild of the University on the River Thames in London on March 29 1967 military dictatorship? George Bitros: This article, erode their super-duper incomes. excluded after being subjected to certain university system are also forced via their I always expressed my first-best credibility so downgraded, how could recognise its potential. But think of the international community that such find the standards in terms of staff universities are, for example, distinctly ie article 16, should have never However, to be fair, I must add that selection criteria. Second, higher taxes to pay for the higher education of position in favour of abolishing article 16. Greek private colleges ever hope to compete potential of the new model to which I institutions of higher learning would be qualifications, space per student, less qualified than the same graduates been enacted in a country that responsible for the lack of progress in this education is not general education, but professionals. Third, the public provision That is why on several occasions in the with even “below-average” Greek state hinted above. Under the new welcome. But I would be the last to computing capabilities, leisure facilities from the economics department of the prides itself as the inventor of respect have been also the backward professional education. This means that, of a private good or service ends up in past I have praised publicly the universities (AEI) or technical education arrangements, private Greek colleges and exclude the possibility that Greek etc which are necessary for operating Athens University of Economics and democracy, the reason being leftist and statist attitudes that have while general education prepares oversupply and bad quality. Are our courageous initiative of George institutes (TEI)? universities can join forces with entrepreneurship may work wonders and such a high-education institution. Then, Business. Perhaps the same is true with that in a democracy the only prevailed among the citizens of Greece children to become literate and law- observations of the Greek state university Papandreou to adopt this approach. But Simply, they cannot. Bureaucrats and prestigious foreign universities and offer surprise us all. find out by how much the same the graduates of departments from monopoly to which the state is in recent decades. As long as these will abiding citizens, higher education system not solid proof of this after the latter reneged on his word and politicians in the ministry of education affordable, good-quality higher education conditions in the Greek state universities other scientific fields. The degrees do entitled from the social contract continue to be the driving forces in our prepares them to enter into the various proposition? If Prof Gemptos replies in fell in line with his party’s old guard, I lost concocted law 3696/08 to eliminate even for the local and export markets. The State laggards fall short of the international standards not seem to be comparable. So there is is the safeguarding of the life, society, the main political parties will play professions and earn their living. The key the negative, then, to say the least, he hope, and as a second-best solution I the remotest threat to the state monopoly change in this direction is already visible Some of your colleagues argue that the and adjust the requirements imposed on some substantive basis for the property and basic natural rights fiddler on the roof because their main word here is “earn” their living. Since we should explain how come there are so started to support the arguments by well- in higher education from such and I am pleased that I have contributed criteria for evaluating and granting college the private universities