Schools Unveil New Operating Rules for the New Year: Key Changes to Absences, Suspensions, and Mobile Phones

The 11 changes that will be introduced in the new school year 2024-2025 were discussed today by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the leadership of the Education Ministry during their meeting at Megaro Maximou.

The first bell of the new teaching year will ring on Sept. 11 and with it will bring 11 major changes to all levels of school education:

The use of mobile phones is explicitly banned, with the slogan “the mobile phone in the bag”, a record number of new teacher appointments is recorded, the Digital Tutoring Centre is dynamically introduced, the “Autonomous School” for remote areas is launched, teaching is enhanced with interactive whiteboards, the e-parents digital tool for informing parents is implemented, and the stop-bullying platform is established.gov.gr platform to combat bullying.

The platform for the prevention of bullying is being set up for the prevention of bullying.

In addition, under the new school operating regulations, pedagogical and disciplinary measures are tightened and the framework for absences is changed. Active Citizen actions are entering schools to educate students on welfare and environmental care. School career guidance courses are planned for students in the first grade, the IT course is being reformed and modernised, and literacy is being strengthened by introducing the reading of comprehensive literature books.

Details:

1. NUMBER OF RECORDS IN NOVEL EDUCATION

Ten thousand appointments of teachers of all disciplines will decisively strengthen the public education system from the first day of school. The permanent teaching staff appointments this year are almost equal to those made cumulatively in 2022 (8,254) and 2023 (3,693). This changes the ratio between permanent teachers and substitutes, shows the government’s strategic will to invest in human resources, and allows teachers themselves, the backbone of the school community, to carry out their profession in a safe environment. The Ministry of Education’s goal is to continue permanent teacher appointments with the same intensity in the coming years.

Great emphasis is also placed on appointments related to special education and parallel support. In the 2024-2025 academic year, the appointments in special education in the primary and secondary education specialties are quadrupled (compared to 2023), while the number of Special Education and Special Support Staff positions in all specialties is eight times higher, given that in the previous year, the appointments were exclusively for psychologists and social workers. In addition, with the strategy of the Ministry of Education, which is currently being implemented, the need for parallel support for students in kindergarten, first, and second-grade classes will be almost entirely covered by the start of the school year.

2. DIGITAL CENTRE

This school year’s big innovation will premiere, on a pilot basis, on September 16 and will involve thousands of students across the country. Every candidate for admission to higher education, through the national exams, will be able to watch live evening performances for the entire syllabus in the subjects being tested, including special subjects such as linear and architectural design, German, and French.

Students will have the opportunity for interactive participation and individualized support from the 98 teachers assigned to provide remedial teaching in the 45 subjects tested nationwide in June in general and vocational high schools. In addition, the teaching will also cover 10 special education courses for the Unified Special Vocational High Schools.

Furthermore, the Digital Tutorial enables all students to follow the entire curriculum in electronic format. Already, the material from the Modern Greek Language and Mathematics courses is available for all grades of the Gymnasium, while by the end of 2025, 2,500 easy-to-understand and digitized videos will be posted for a total of 49 courses from the 5th grade to the 3rd grade.

3. CLASSES

Gavdos (2024) and Arki (2025) become the first two remote areas to acquire schools with the physical presence of three teachers, basic subjects, combined with modern distance education for all other subjects. In this way students, while remaining in their place of residence, gain access to education. At the same time, through the digital tutorial, they can also be supported with remedial teaching.

4. INTERACTIVE LEARNING SYSTEMS

Of the 36,264 interactive whiteboards to be installed by December 31, 2024, in all grades from grade 5 through grade 3, 28,504 are already in classrooms. The completion rate of the project is 78.6%. Teachers are acquiring new, interactive, learning systems. Students are broadening their horizons through documentaries, videos, and simulations, while archival material from other institutions, including ERT, leading institutions, and museums, will now be available to the educational community.

With resources from the Recovery Fund, kindergartens, and primary and secondary schools are being equipped with 177,112 new robotic systems (Robotics Kits). To date, 100,281 have been delivered, with a completion rate of 56.62%.

5. E-PARENTS IMPLEMENTATION

The new digital tool for parents and guardians, already informs them of students’ scores as well as announcements and notifications from the school. Throughout the year, the application will expand its capabilities with information on student absences, progress on curriculum, and the scheduling of meetings between parents and teachers.

6. STOP-BULLYING.GOV.GR

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The platform against domestic violence and bullying that premiered at the end of the last school year has already proven its usefulness. To date, 1,243 parents/guardians and 185 pupils have created user profiles and 285 and 43 reports have already been submitted, respectively. The schools themselves handled the majority of the incidents, while the four-member task force of the Education Directorates intervened in 17 cases.

Teachers since the beginning of this year now have all the tools in their hands to deal with the phenomenon while training of teachers, lecturers and education officials is in full swing.

7. NEW RULES FOR THE OPERATION OF SCHOOLS

Greece joins the list of European countries that are moving to ban the use of mobile phones in schools. The measure has been universally implemented in Portugal and Spain, with variations applied in France and Finland, while Cyprus and Sweden are close to legislating it.

In Greece, except health reasons, the obvious possession and use of mobile phones will be banned throughout the educational process, while non-compliance by students will result in the imposition of a one-day suspension. If a student videos/photographs/records teachers or classmates without consent or assent, the penalty will be a three-day suspension while with consent/assent, the student will be suspended for 1 to 3 days. If the photography/videotaping involves the personal data of third parties, then the Faculty Association is required to apply the pedagogical measure of changing the school environment.

-The new school regulations provide for stricter pedagogical and disciplinary measures. For example, the school principal can decide to three days of suspension, up from one day previously. Also, the Teachers’ Association can decide on up to five days of suspension from three days that was previously possible, while it is also at its discretion to change the department or school environment and to exclude students from activities, cultural or sporting events, educational trips, and travel.

-At the same time, the context of absences is also changing. Sufficient attendance is characterized when absences, during the academic year, do not exceed 50 or when they do not exceed 114 of which, more than 50 are excused. Late arrival in class is considered an absence.

-In cases of damage/destruction, partial or total, of school buildings, premises and facilities attributable to a particular pupil, the cost of restoration shall be borne by the pupil (if an adult) or his/her parents and guardians. Once the amount of the rehabilitation expense has been determined, the parents/guardians must cover the cost. If they do not consent, the expense is certified and the collection procedure follows.

8. Actions of an active citizen

Greece is the first country to harmonize its curriculum with the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. The aim is to educate students in well-being, environmental care, social responsibility, and creative thinking. Through skills workshops, the curricula are enriched with activities to address domestic violence and bullying, environmental protection, social responsibility, and helping our fellow citizens, while emphasis is placed on school days dedicated to zoophilia, sports, mental health, and more.

9. SCHOOL VOCATIONAL PREPARATION

By the end of the school year, all students in the first grade will have the opportunity to discover their aptitudes and talents. Students will enter a personal code into an online application, where they will select a vocational guidance company from a register of companies certified by the EOPPEP. The service includes the completion of a standardized vocational orientation questionnaire in digital format and an individual session with a qualified vocational guidance counselor.

10. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CERTIFICATE

The high school computer science course is being reformed by updating the content of the textbooks and designing a new certificate based on four pillars: Computing basics, data manipulation and analysis, internet and networks, and ethical/social aspects. The new computing textbooks for all three grades of high school will be available in digital format from this year and in color from 2025-2026.

11. LITERATURE

The new, open, school includes many changes aimed at broadening students’ horizons, increasing their understanding of texts, and moving away from rote learning by enhancing literacy.

From this academic year onwards, the reading of whole literary works is being introduced, instead of fragmentary texts as has been the case until now. In all classes, from kindergarten to grade 3, one to three books (depending on the class) will be distributed, on which students will do assignments and specific activities. Leading Greek and foreign authors will help children to love books and develop their critical thinking skills and critical thinking. Teachers will be introduced, through special training, on how the classroom works and students will receive their books through textbook delivery.

In the same direction, the multi-textbook will also work, which will be available in digital format from April 2025 and in print from September 2026. Through this, teachers and students will have multiple learning resources at their disposal. 60 teams of authors are working on the multi-purpose book for 187 primary and secondary curricula. The 636 proposals were evaluated by 2,593 practicing teachers, faculty members, and other scholars, who approved 590 of them.

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