WRITTEN QUESTION E-4076/98

by Nana Mouskouri (PPE) and Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE) to the Commission

(14 January 1999)

Subject: Funding of extra tuition programmes from appropriations for education under the Community Support Framework for Greece

One aspect of the Ministry of Education's promised reforms in Greece is to set up extra tuition programmes, particularly in the comprehensive secondary school. The aim of these lessons is mainly to help the weakest pupils to adapt to the requirements of the comprehensive system, providing them with additional support during the transitional period.

However, the very fact that this will involve a great many lessons, long hours and the same system of teaching gives rise to certain reservations. Will this system not create a second school? How the extra tuition scheme will operate in practice also gives rise to a number of questions.

The criteria laid down for selecting the teachers who are to provide such tuition are easily set aside either for objective reasons (e.g. in small towns, particularly in the provinces, there are no teachers with such a level of formal qualifications) or for subjective reasons (certain teachers are simply selected from the staff of each school without making an effort to find others) with the result that in most cases the same people teach in the morning and in the afternoon. It might well be asked, therefore, how those teachers who fail - in the Ministry's own terms - in the morning will ultimately succeed in the afternoon and for this purpose receive funding of DRS 25 billion from Community resources.

Perhaps certain strictly applied criteria should be laid down aimed at selecting highly qualified teachers who are not yet permanent members of staff, which would also help combat unemployment? Finally, are there any official figures for the number of pupils taking part in the extra tuition programme, which would enable its effectiveness to be assessed?

Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission

(24 February 1999)

The athorities Greek ministry of Education organises extra tutorial programmes for the support of the students of the integrated lyceum, cornerstone of its recent educational reform. This action has been included in the above operational programme (Education and Initial Training of the Greek Community support framework), and is co-funded by the European social fund (ESF). A pilot phase was implemented during the last months of the school year 1997-1998 and the programme's monitoring committee decided recently on its extension to the school years 1998-1999 and 1999-2000.

The ministry of Education has issued detailed instructions on the organisation and management of the extra tutorial programmes, the subject areas, the hours per subject per week, the methods of teaching, the objectives, the selection of students and their number per course as well as the qualifications, selection and remuneration of teachers. It has also organised training programmes for the teachers and other staff involved in the implementation.

The ministry of Education considers that the above extra tutorial courses are not a repetition of the ordinary teaching, but constitute supplementary training of students on new skills, imposed by the integrated lyceum.

According to the Greek authorities, the conclusions from last year's pilot phase are very encouraging, as regards both the interest and the participation of students and the general organisational issues.

The programme's monitoring committee has agreed that the extra tutorial courses and their effectiveness will be evaluated at the end of the current programming period.

The Honourable Member may obtain further details from the Greek ministry of Education.