Main opposition New Democracy (ND) party leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday reiterated his pledge to work towards revising Greece's constitution in order to allow non-profit, non-state universities to operate in the country.
Currently, Article 16 of the Greek constitution gives the state a monopoly on higher education, with private colleges not accredited as such but considered commercial businesses. Only tertiary vocational schools are recognized by the Greek state. As such, Greece is among the very few countries in the developed world where the state prohibits non-state universities and colleges.
Mitsotakis spoke from Thessaloniki, where he toured the ongoing international trade fair that is annually held every September in the city.
"I have a vision for Thessaloniki and northern Greece: to act as a pole that attracts high technology and innovation, one that will be globally competitive... We have the comparative advantages to achieve this .. we need universities that promote applied research; ones that will be unburdened institutionally, and face no obstacles in their ties to production and the real market."
