The government’s intention to relieve high school students of the excessive burden of the Panhellenic Examinations through the introduction of the National High School Diploma, and effectively to abolish the current distorted “one-shot” logic, is the focus of the meeting convened in the coming days by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on educational reform. Current developments, moreover, increase the sense of urgency for advancing structural changes in public education.

Just a few days after the announcement of this year’s university entrance exam results, and while much of Greek society is focused on the Panhellenic Examinations, admission thresholds for each department, and related matters, amid the hopes and anxieties of tens of thousands of students, Mr. Mitsotakis is expected, at a meeting in the Maximos Mansion with the Minister of Education, Sofia Zacharaki, and her team, to set out the basic guidelines and establish a clear timetable for future actions.

Rationalisation

Regarding the new system—which will be an evolution of the Panhellenic Examinations and is likely to be implemented from the 2028–2029 school year—it has been reported unofficially that it will be based primarily on expanding student assessment, particularly in the final two years of high school, so that the weight of the Panhellenic Examinations is effectively reduced.

In other words, if the government ultimately adopts a system similar to the IB, which incorporates continuous assessment elements into students’ overall evaluation, then the anxiety and pressure surrounding the Panhellenic Examinations would be reduced, and the sense of a “final judgment” would be largely eliminated.

According to THEMA, the Prime Minister considers the issue of the Panhellenic Examinations to be of major importance, believing that the system requires immediate streamlining and modernisation so that students and families no longer view the final high school exams as a matter of life and death.

Mr. Mitsotakis has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the current form of the Panhellenic Examinations, having formed the view that they have developed in an unproductive direction and have become a “Greek peculiarity” — a paradox found almost nowhere else in the world, and certainly not in advanced Western countries.

However, the Prime Minister’s intention is by no means the abrupt, sudden abolition of the existing university admissions system, as the Panhellenic Examinations do not only have negative aspects.

On the contrary, setting aside their disadvantages—primarily the often unbearable psychological and emotional pressure on students—the Panhellenic Examinations are characterised by reliability and transparency, qualities that should be preserved and form the foundation of the improved future system.

Seriousness, not populism

From the outset, Mr. Mitsotakis has advocated evolution rather than radical upheaval—“evolution, not revolution”. This is partly because international experience shows that structural reforms in education require broad social and political consensus.

They also require at least a five-year transitional period before becoming fully operational in real conditions. On the other hand, as demonstrated during the SYRIZA government period with various proposals for the complete abolition of the Panhellenic Examinations and their replacement with a six-year secondary education system, grandstanding on education reform is a common feature of extreme populism.

Consequently, there is no question of an immediate abolition of the Panhellenic Examinations, but rather of a carefully planned and methodical transformation process aimed at improving them. For the time being, nothing changes for students currently in high school or in the third year of lower secondary school.

The Minister of Education’s plan includes enriching the National High School Diploma with a free State Certificate in Information Technology and a free State Certificate in Language Proficiency. The aim is for the diploma to function as a “passport”, so that even students who do not wish to sit university entrance exams will still receive certification of their knowledge and skills.

The vision is for high school to cease functioning solely as a stepping stone to examinations—particularly in the 11th and 12th grades—where students and parents are exhausted by private tutoring.

Families have been spending money for years, while a paradox persists: children’s futures are decided in a matter of hours—literally in a single moment—a dead-end and unhealthy situation that intensifies pressure and inequality.

Therefore, the goal of the new system is to shift evaluation from a single examination moment to the entire course of each student’s high school education. As part of these changes, the Minister of Education has announced that the Question Bank will be updated and expanded to include 2,500 questions based on the new curricula.

As a result, announcements regarding the future of the Panhellenic Examinations—and thus the future of thousands of students—are expected very soon. Meanwhile, it is noted that five European Union countries (France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Finland) will assist in drafting the reform plan promoted by the Greek government, following an initiative by Ms Zacharaki.

The Minister of Education clarifies that “we are not talking about abolishing the Panhellenic Examinations, but about something far more important and far-reaching: a change in philosophy throughout secondary education. This includes curriculum changes, digitalisation of schools, permanent staffing, infrastructure upgrades, new textbooks, strengthening student skills, a digital tutoring programme, and more. If we were to start by abolishing the Panhellenic Examinations—which are the final stage of a long educational process—it would be like building a structure starting from the top floor. We, as the Ministry of Education and the New Democracy government, would never proceed with anything so reckless. The goal is to give secondary education real substance, so that children gain meaningful knowledge in school rather than memorising endless material solely for final exams.”

The National Dialogue continues

At the upcoming meeting on educational reform at the Maximos Mansion, the Prime Minister will be presented with the work carried out so far by the National Dialogue Committee on changes to secondary education and the establishment of the National High School Diploma. The Committee’s report is not the final version (which is expected towards the end of October), but it will be detailed and extensive.

It consists of two parts: a theoretical review of the proposed reform and a detailed assessment of the current education system in Greece. In effect, it is a comprehensive snapshot of public secondary education, highlighting negative aspects such as centralisation, but also positive features such as the quality of teaching staff, advances in digitalisation, and ongoing infrastructure improvements over the past five to six years.

It should be noted that, according to the government plan, the National Dialogue on the New High School and the National High School Diploma began last February, when the basic principles, methodology, institutional framework, organisational structure, objectives, and key research questions were established. From March to May, working groups carried out scientific and diagnostic work, resulting in five thematic pillars.

Areas of change

The National Dialogue Committee on Secondary Education Reform and the Panhellenic Examinations has focused on research and analysis in the following five areas:

1. Educational content: curriculum, graduate profile, knowledge, skills, and the link between learning and assessment.
2. School life: school functioning, climate, student well-being, inclusion, and participation of the school community.
3. Teacher professional development: initial training, continuing education, professional learning, and support for teachers.
4. Infrastructure: physical and digital infrastructure for a modern learning environment.
5. Governance: institutional framework, system administration, quality assurance, use of data, and decision-making mechanisms.

In close cooperation with the main Committee, four additional working groups were established on assessment and certification, special and inclusive education, artificial intelligence and digital transformation, and equality and educational pathways.

At the same time, the National Dialogue is supported by the European Commission’s Technical Support Instrument, with experts from Finland, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain, as well as contributions from the OECD.

Last Wednesday, the first online workshop was held at the Ministry of Education, with presentations on the Greek education system, key challenges in upper secondary education as identified by international partners, and related issues. The next in-person two-day workshop will take place in October in Athens, where key issues identified by the National Dialogue will be discussed and recommendations will be formulated by international experts.

What to expect

Today, the National Dialogue is in its synthesis phase. Following the completion of the interim report in mid-July, the Ministry of Education will launch a public consultation on the main findings of the Committee’s months-long study, areas of consensus, and key questions concerning the New High School and the National High School Diploma.

For several weeks, students, parents, teachers, university faculty, social partners, and citizens will be able to express their views on the role of secondary education, the curriculum, assessment and certification systems, access to higher education, and the main directions emerging from the Dialogue.

These contributions will be taken into account alongside the findings of the working groups and international peer-review recommendations in order to prepare the final report and shape the government’s policy decisions.

The final report, expected by the end of October, will synthesise the findings of all working groups, the public consultation, the peer-review process, and relevant international literature. This will form the basis for the government’s legislative proposal.

In other words, from early October, the government will have a complete record of stakeholder views and expert recommendations for the future of Greek secondary education and the National High School Diploma.

By combining all these elements, and starting from the 2028–2029 school year, the Panhellenic Examinations will ideally begin to be seen by the educational community and Greek society more broadly as a milestone in students’ lives, with a meaning and impact very different from today.