The Draft Law on Public Onassis Schools was voted on in principle and on all articles in the House Committee on Education on Monday, January 27, 2025. “Yes” by New Democracy, reservation by the opposition parties, and “Against” by KKE and New Left.

The vote was preceded by the statements of 11 institutions on the draft law, followed by questions from MPs. The bodies were as follows: ONASIS Foundation, OLME, Central Union of Municipalities of Communities, Mayor of Athens, Mayor of Thessaloniki, Mayor of Peristeri, Mayor of Acharnon, Institute of Educational Policy, President of the Steering Committee of the Standard and Experimental Schools, ASGME and the Panhellenic Association of Secondary Education Substitutes.

It is recalled that the bill will be discussed and voted on in the plenary session of the House of Representatives tomorrow, Wednesday, January 29.

What the President of the Onassis Foundation Antonis Papadimitriou announced

Announcements for students and teachers for the 22 Onassis Public High Schools and Lyceums, which are being established, were made by the President of the Onassis Foundation, Antonis Papadimitriou, during a discussion in the Committee for Educational Affairs of the Parliament.
At a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee of the House of Representatives of the European Union, during the debate of the Committee on Culture and the Arts.

Earlier, he referred to the enthusiastic acceptance of the initiative by the public, as revealed by an MRB poll in which 1,550 people participated and were asked to evaluate the idea. “Completely” or “Rather positive” was 65% of the general public while only 19.7% were “completely” or “rather negative”.

As for the announcements, Papadimitriou said the Onassis Foundation intends to support local students, based on procedures to be decided by the Ministry of Education itself. The ultimate goal, he said, is that 50 percent of the students of the
DIM.Ω.S. should come from the local community. As he clarified, the Onassis Foundation will not be involved either in the evaluation of teachers or in the determination of the program.

He expressed, however, the Foundation’s desire to sponsor digital tutorials for the children of the sixth grade to facilitate their participation in the DIMOS exams. As for the students who are already attending these schools, as planned, they will remain and receive remedial teaching in the Groups.

Papadimitriou also made it clear that it is the wish of the Foundation – although it is not within its remit – that the teachers already in service remain in their organic positions with the Onassis Foundation financially supporting their training so that they acquire the minimum qualifications required to remain.

Finally, the President of the Onassis Foundation expressed the intention to financially support other schools in the same district to improve their infrastructure, such as about accessibility for students with mobility problems or students with special skills – such as those on the autism spectrum – for whom special care will be taken with a psychologist and social worker in each DIMOS school.