Regional universities in search of students

Some 20 departments of Greek universities have had a low, even single-digit, number of admissions in recent years due to the low demand from students participating in the Panhellenic entry examinations. 

Indicatively, in 2023 about 60 departments admitted less than 50 freshmen. Senior officials involved in the formulation of government higher education policy reckon the very small number of new students is expected to cause significant restructuring in higher education, particularly in regional higher education institutions, in conjunction with the operation of the first non-state universities beginning in September 2025.

According to mathematician Stratos Stratigakis, who processed the data of the national examinations, up to 10 senior high school candidates were admitted to 18 regional university departments in 2023 to study subjects with low demand from the labor...