A second pan-educational demonstration took place in downtown Athens with over 1,500 secondary school students and teachers. The demonstrations was the students’ response to government plans regarding the “new school” bill that includes changes to the exam process, an exam topics pools, the merging of schools as well as teachers’ and textbooks’ shortages.

There are currently 1,100 positions that need to be covered in schools across the country and Education Minister Andreas Loverdos is looking for volunteers who would be interested in working unpaid in exchange for

Education Minister Andreas Loverdos is seeking to cover the teacher shortage at state schools by offering a point system that would help them when seeking a position for public recruitment. There are currently 1,100 positions that need to be filled in schools across the country and Mr. Loverdos hopes that appealing to teachers’ spirit of volunteerism and giving them recruitment points would help cover the teacher shortage in the cash-strapped education system.

He outlined his plans in Greek daily Ta Nea. “I can’t fill the 1,100 vacancies because I don’t have the funds,” he said. “I am thinking that one way of handling the deadlock is to ask for volunteer contributions. They can work without money to cover the shortage, by volunteering, in exchange for points that could help them when there are recruitments made.”

The minister reiterated his intent on SKAI on Friday. “If this is the only solution to fill the shortage at schools, then I will use it,” he said.

Meanwhile, a second pan-educational demonstration took place in downtown Athens with over 1,500 secondary school students and teachers. The demonstrations was the students’ response to government plans regarding the “new school” bill that includes changes to the exam process, an exam topics pools, the merging of schools as well as teachers’ and textbooks’ shortages.

Comparison of teachers and politicians’ wages

Teachers in Greece are paid a basic wage of 680 euros per month and substitute teachers get 800 euros per month. Full funding for the Ministry of Education and Religion is at 2,007,649,362 euros. The wages of a regular deputy of parliament (not in a ministerial position) range from 7,644.79 euros to 8,198.79 euros without taking into account the extra 75 euros they receive per meeting and funding for participation in parliamentary committees. The Education Minister receives close to 100,000 euros per annum.