Education bill to pass amid protests

Parliament on Friday is expected to approve the Education Ministry's bill allowing, under conditions, the operation, for the first time in Greece, branches of foreign universities.

The vote, however, will not be without discord as it will be accompanied by the culmination of major mobilizations outside the Parliament building in central Athens.

Speeches by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitstotaks and the political leaders will precede the vote, which will be by roll-call - at the request of leftist opposition SYRIZA and communist KKE.

The acrimony between proponents and opponents of the bill was palpable again on Thursday when the speech by Education Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis set off another round of confrontation, mainly with socialist PASOK.

"You say: 'No big foreign universities will come.' My answer is: 'Then what are you afraid of?'" he said at one...