Editorial: Autonomy

The government intends to allow universities and not the education ministry to set the number of students they will admit each year.
That addresses a basic need, the need (for many and varied reasons) for universities to become autonomous.
Who can doubt that if the academic community arranges its own affairs universities will operate more efficiently?
Who can dispute the fact that the autonomy of universities will bring greater academic freedom?
Who can deny that with autonomy universities can free themselves of the political and partisan ulterior motives by which they have long been beset?
According to the OECD, Greece has one of the most centralised educational systems in the world, and that is reflected at all levels of the system.
Schools are unable to take educational initiatives due to a suffocating surveillance and the requirement that centrally drafted curriculums be strictly adhered to.
A homogenised programme is imposed on all schools regardless of the needs of each one.
Hence, there is a need to extend to schools the autonomy which will be afforded to universities, as the various levels of education are interconnected.
The education system should have the same spirit at both the school and university levels.
School and university education in this country will not improve unless they function as living organisms.