DEBATING PRIVATE VS PUBLIC EDUCATION WITH THE HELLENIC U.S. ALUMNI ASSOCIATION – DECEMBER 2016
Should tertiary education be public or private? Does this enforce equality among students? These are some of the questions asked at the first debate organized by the Hellenic U.S. Alumni Association in Athens, Greece.
On Tuesday 6th December, more than 150 people attended a debate organized by the Hellenic U.S. Alumni Association with the support of the U.S. Mission to Greece and the Evgenides Foundation/UTech Lab. Six speakers argued the motion “Education Should Be Public And Free, Ensuring Equality Among All Students”. Speakers included Mrs. Marietta Giannakou (former Minister of Education and Religious Affairs); Professor Theodoros Papatheodorou (Member of the Greek Parliament,); Professor Nikolaos Farantrouris (Jean Monnet Chair on EU Law and Policies, International European Studies Department University of Piraeus), Professor Theodore Fortsakis (Member of the Greek Parliament,); Mrs. Claudia Carydis Benopoulou (VP Public Affairs, American College of Greece), and Mr. Alexandros Lympikis (Law Student, Democritus University of Thrace). Each speaker put their case forward and was expected to speak for no more than seven minutes. Comments and questions were taken by the floor, culminating in a vote by audience members on whether the house accepted or rejected the motion.
Those arguing against the motion suggested that the amount of money spent in support of the public education would better be used under a regulated framework of private education. They also stated that strengthening the competition by allowing private entities to operate as universities would only improve the overall level of education provided by both public and private institutions. Those arguing for the motion highlighted the nonprofit and public character of education, which guarantees and serves the target of having in place a truly universal level of education.
