A high-level conference on the new National Baccalaureate and the upcoming changes in secondary education is being held today, Tuesday, at 12 noon at the Maximou Mansion, chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The meeting will be attended by Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis and Education Minister Sofia Zacharaki.

The government initiative marks the official start of the institutional and social dialogue on a reform that touches the core of the Greek education system: the way the Lyceum operates and its connection with admission to higher education. It is an intervention that is expected to provoke intense debate, as it redefines the role of the school and the weight of examinations in the student’s path.

The timeline and goal of the reform

Under the government’s plan, the changes will not be implemented immediately. The new system is planned to apply to students attending the first grade in the 2027-2028 school year, with full implementation set for two years later.

The central goal of the Ministry of Education is to substantially upgrade the Lyceum and free it from the one-pointed logic of preparing for the Panhellenic Examinations. As noted by government sources, the current model has turned the Lyceum into an “antechamber” of the University, placing a financial burden on thousands of families due to extensive tutorial support.

National Evaluation Corps and credibility checks

A key element of the new design is the creation and operation of a National Corps of Assessors. As Minister of Education Sofia Zacharaki has stated, the Corps will be staffed by teachers with long experience in secondary education, who have in-depth knowledge of both the examination process and the students’ learning path, the functioning of the school and the dynamics of the classroom.

In this context, it is envisaged that the correction of papers in the in-school examinations will be done by the teachers themselves, but all papers will be digitized and subjected to random checks by external evaluators. The ministry is considering introducing interventions in cases of over-scoring or where the oral score deviates from the written score by more than five points.

What the draft National Baccalaureate provides

The Minister of Education’s draft, which will go out for public consultation immediately, includes several substantial changes:

-For the promotional examinations in the first and second cycles of the Lyceum, all the subjects will be selected by lottery from the Subject Bank.

-The Minimum Admission Base (MBE), which was established during the ministry of Niki Kerameos, is abolished, as it is considered that with the new syste,m it is no longer necessary.

-A 10 admission base is set at the National Baccalaureate, as a prerequisite for claiming a place in the higher education institutions.

The general average for admission to higher education will be based on the grade of the National Baccalaureate (with a weighting of 20% for A’ Lyceum, 30% for B’ and 50% for C’) on the one hand, and on the other hand on the special baccalaureate examinations in four subjects, per scientific field, which will be conducted at the national level.

The weighting coefficients per subject, as defined by the university departments, will continue to apply.

At the same time, the Education Minister intends to ask rectors, deans and department chairs to submit proposals to strengthen the role of universities in the admission requirements for students.

The five pillars of the new Lyceum

Sophia Zacharaki has made it clear that the National Baccalaureate is not a simple change in examination procedures, but part of an overall educational strategy, based on five key axes: educational content, school life, teacher training, school and digital infrastructure and, finally, the governance of the education system with clear roles and accountability.

Committee of Wise Men and the search for consensus

The Committee of Wise Men, which the government intends to set up, will play a decisive role in shaping the final proposals. As Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has stated in a recent TV interview with Alpha, the aim is to submit a comprehensive proposal with broader bipartisan acceptance within the next six to nine months, noting that both PASOK and SYRIZA have already taken a positive position on the principle.

The National Baccalaureate is, moreover, included in the ten key legislative initiatives of the Consolidated Government Policy Plan for 2026, confirming that, for the government, it is one of the biggest bets in the field of education.