Society
GREECE
5th Lyceum School Principal’s Interview about
teachers strike in Greece.
By Gregoria
! Mr Papoulias, I would like to ask you some questions about the big teachers’ strike.
First, What are the reasons that led the teachers to strike?
Well, the main reasons are two. The first reason concerns the “New High School” Law.
This new law makes it difficult for senior high school students to be promoted from
grade to grade until they finish school. As a result, the next few years, a great number
of students will have left high school. Both general secondary school and vocational
school ). These students will be led to an apprenticeship-training in Vocational Training
Institutes (in greek: ???) or in School Laboratory Centre (in greek:???). Therefore,
during their apprenticeship, at the age of 15-16, the students will become free
workforce for all kinds of businesses.
The second reason is that schools merging, the increase of students’ number per class,
the abolition of school structures (school libraries, remedial teaching, supplementary
support teaching) and the increase in the timetables of teachers lead to their mandatory
availability- dismissal and to their mandatory transfer to the regional schools or even
worse to the mainland’s schools.
! Was the teachers’ participation satisfactory?
In our county, the teachers' participation in the strike was very satisfactory.The average,
for the first five days, was 68%.The teachers’ participation in other actions, such as
informing the public about their problems, was much greater.