Parliament considers degree equivalency regulation

The Ministry of Education has submitted a comprehensive omnibus bill to Parliament, which includes a landmark provision granting equivalency to the degrees of 400,000 graduates from the former Technological Educational Institutes (TEIs).

This initiative, expected to be discussed in the Parliamentary Committee on Educational Affairs later this week, aims to put a definitive end to the institutional uncertainty caused by the sudden “university upgrade” of 2018–2019, which left hundreds of thousands of graduates without clear academic recognition.

How equivalency will be implemented for 400,000 degrees

According to the submitted text, equivalency will be based on three main pillars:

ECTS credits: Verification of the study workload.

Curriculum Content: Comparison of former TEI programs with corresponding university programs.

Postgraduate and Doctoral Degrees: Consideration of relevant higher-level degrees held by graduates.

A mandatory condition for completion of the process is certification by the Hellenic Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency (HQA), ensuring the integrity and recognition of the degrees.

Two “speeds” of equivalency

The legislation distinguishes between two categories of graduates:

Automatic Equivalency: For programs deemed fully equivalent to university degrees.

Conditional Equivalency: For programs with discrepancies, graduates will need to successfully pass a number of specific courses to receive equivalency.

The long history of “Uncertainty”

Since 2019, when TEIs were abolished and integrated into universities, the absence of a unified equivalency framework created significant barriers to graduates’ professional development in both the private and public sectors.

The new regulation, to be incorporated into the bill for the Higher School of Performing Arts, is expected to be voted on soon, paving the way for graduates to submit their applications.