MP Zeybek slams the law on private universities
New Left Party Xanthi MP Hüseyin Zeybek said that the new draft law allowing the establishment of private universities is a threat to state universities and emphasised that the draft law directly violates Article 16 of the Constitution.
MP Hüseyin Zeybek's statement on the private university law is as follows:
"The government's draft law on private universities is a clear threat to university education and a direct violation of Article 16 of the Constitution.
The draft law will lead to the discrediting of universities, especially in small towns, as well as creating a class difference among students and creating the risk of tuition fees at state universities.
In the past years, thousands of students from the departments of the Democritus University of Thrace in Xanthi, Komotini, Alexandroupolis and Orestiada were left open due to the application of base points.
The private universities, which the government has voted to establish unconstitutionally in order to make money for certain individuals, are erecting tombstones for state universities. As a result, state universities in small cities, which will not be preferred due to private universities, will have dramatic economic consequences for the local community in the short term.
As an MP sworn to defend the development and prosperity of the region, it is my duty to draw attention to the dangers that lie ahead. However, from the moment the New Democracy Party government came to power, its sole aim has been to eliminate the people's social rights to health and education.
Our country has produced brilliant scientists with an excellent reputation abroad, all of whom graduated from Greek public universities. However, with the legislation to be introduced, the institutions that created these scientists will be destroyed.
The government has resorted to big lies in black and white:
First lie: The New Democratic Government claims that private universities are acceptable throughout Europe: Whereas the reality is: There are few private universities in European countries and in most of them the quality of education is low. There are 8 private universities in the United Kingdom, only 1 in France, no private universities in the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland and Luxembourg (education is provided only at public universities).
Second lie: If private universities are established in Greece, students will prefer private universities in their home country instead of going abroad: Of the approximately 40,000 Greek students studying abroad, approximately 38,000 of them are there for their master's or doctoral studies, i.e. they are abroad for other reasons that have nothing to do with the draft law we are discussing. In addition, this government, which condemns young scientists to unemployment and fleeing abroad with its wrong policies, excludes 20,000 students from public universities every year with the base point application it introduces and takes away their right to education. It is proud of this and acts as if it is doing something very honourable.
Third lie: The establishment of private universities will increase 'competition' and thus strengthen state universities: What is actually true: Where there are private universities in the world, they are mostly state-funded universities. What will happen is that public universities, which should benefit from European funding, will be deprived of it because it will now be channelled to the private sector, while Greece ranks last in the EU ranking of countries benefiting from higher education funding.
Fourth lie: There will be no class differences between students, students who want to choose private or public universities will be admitted to educational institutions with the same criteria, which is actually true: This is also a big lie of the New Democracy Government, which proves that it serves the real plan and certain interests. Today, with the new bill introduced by the NDP, a student who wants to choose the Faculty of Medicine in Athens will be able to study medicine at a private university with only 9.000 points and paying tens of thousands of euros, while a student who wants to choose the Faculty of Medicine in Athens must achieve a success of 19.000-19.500 points in the university entrance exams. What the New Democracy government calls 'success' is actually what it is boasting about and providing financial benefits to a certain segment of the population it serves.
As the New Left Party, we have demanded the withdrawal of this bill from the very beginning.
I would like to state that we stand by all students and the university community who react to the approval and implementation of this draft law in parliament."
