The first phase of the process of cleaning up student registers at Greek Higher Education Institutions, involving the removal of inactive students who had been admitted to four-year study programs before 2017 and did not meet the statutory criteria for an extension of their period of study, was completed on December 31.

The process was carried out in the context of implementing Law 4957/2022, as amended by Law 5224/2025. According to data from the institutions, the total number of inactive students who did not meet the criteria of the law and were removed amounted to 308,605 students.

The Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, Sofia Zaharakis, stated:
“For decades, the status of inactive students was unfair to everyone: to the institutions, which could not plan properly; to active students, who were working hard; and above all to our young people themselves, who remained trapped without a real connection to their studies. The new framework is not rigid. It explicitly provides exceptions and flexibility for those who work, for those with health problems, or serious family and social obligations. We do not treat everyone the same, but each person fairly. Thousands of our students took advantage of the ‘second chance’ we established, and that says a lot about how necessary this intervention was.

Student status does not apply for life at any modern European university. We want degrees with value, reflecting effort, ability, and dedication. Our goal is a public university that is modern, outward-looking, and inclusive. A university that supports the student, builds their future, and does not leave them on the sidelines indefinitely. We are not closing doors, but opening pathways to studies with prospects, credibility, and institutional consistency.

In the coming days, precise data will be provided on those who made use of the second chance.”

The Deputy Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports responsible for Higher Education, Professor Nikos Papaioannou, emphasized:
“The cleanup of student registers at Greek universities constitutes a necessary and substantial step toward rationalizing our academic system. It is a process implemented within the framework of the law, with respect for the academic community, contributing to the rational planning of policies for active students, the funding of universities, and the overall upgrading of the public university.

With updated student registers, universities gain the ability to plan more accurately their needs in human resources, infrastructure, and funding. This planning is a prerequisite for improving the quality of studies and daily academic operations, as well as for enhancing the qualitative criteria taken into account in the evaluation of Greek universities in international rankings.

With planning, organization, and coordinated action, we are implementing the goal of the New Democracy government and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to make the Greek public university even more modern, functional, and high-quality. Relying on reliable data, we are creating higher education that truly serves active students and the smooth academic operation of the country’s Higher Education Institutions.”