Minister of Education, Religion, and Sports, Kyriakos Pierrakakis announced the change of all textbooks in school education and the introduction of the “multipurpose book,” which allows for the selection from more than one book, speaking on MEGA.
“All textbooks in school education will change. The multipurpose book will be introduced, meaning that a teacher can choose from a list of specific books to teach the subject, an option integrated, of course, into the same curriculum. The pilot implementation will begin at the start of the school year 2025, and their printed format will be introduced into education from 2026,” emphasized Mr. Pierrakakis.
The Minister of Education spoke about the appointment of 10,000 permanent educators, referring to the unique aspect of the Greek educational system with substitute teachers. He reiterated the government’s intention to reduce the ratio of permanent educators to substitutes to 50%, as stated by the Prime Minister. He defended the priority of appointments in secondary education for this year, emphasizing that “primary education will have priority in the next period.”
“He stated, ‘One cannot definitively solve the substitute teacher problem. One can attempt to minimize their number and quickly address the vacancies that arise for various valid reasons.'”
“The changes in education will start in September and will begin from kindergarten to culminate in high school,” said the Minister of Education, emphasizing “the need for these changes to be combined with improvements to the national examination system, without abolishing the acquired rights of many years and especially their unquestionable character.”
Mr. Pierrakakis mentioned that the changes in schools will follow OECD recommendations, aiming for Greek education to align with global standards. He reiterated interventions already made in digital tutoring and those expected from September, including the introduction in high school of “live tutoring sessions with questions and teaching instructors detached at the Ministry of Education.”
Finally, Mr. Pierrakakis made a special reference to infrastructure issues, stating that “in collaboration with the Ministries of Interior and Finance, we are seeking funding to help municipalities improve school infrastructure, because it is inconceivable for education to progress technologically to 2025 with interactive boards and other changes while the threat of crumbling school buildings looms.”
