Private Universities to operate in Greece; Syriza supported Junta ban lifted

Private educational institutions could launch their operation in Greece from the 2025-2026 academic year, "in any case by the end of this government's tenure", said Education Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis in an interview on ALPHA TV on Wednesday evening.

Greece had been the only country in the West that banned private universities owing to Article 16 which was created during the 1967-74 military dictatorship with the article ironically defended again in 2018 by the Syriza party.

The Greek government's "new legislation that allows for the founding of private, non-profit universities in the country means we will stop being the only country in the world without private higher education institutions."

Pierrakakis noted that there is a set of rules and conditions for the operation of those institutions, mentioning that "there needs to be at least three faculties available before their portfolio is considered (...), with 30 professors with a PhD as a required minimum." Overall, the criteria for approving these universities' operation in Greece "will be the strictest in Europe."

The Greek government on Wednesday announced upcoming higher education reforms that will facilitate the establishment of private universities in the country for the first time.