Tsipras pledges teacher pay rise, abolition of Panhellenic exams and new research ministry

Government accused of undermining public education

Former prime minister Alexis Tsipras, now leader of ELAS, released a social media video responding to a special education teacher who asked what immediate changes he would make to improve education. He accused the current government of systematically devaluing teachers and downgrading public schools and universities to clear space for private profit.

For seven years now, our teachers have been devalued, public schools and public universities have been downgraded so that room can be given to profiteering.

The Patras law school as a case study

Tsipras pointed to the Law School in Patras, founded in 2018 under his own government and abolished in 2019 by the current administration with the justification that four law schools were too many. He noted that three private law schools are now being established.

One public law school didn't fit, but three private ones do. That is their hypocrisy, that is their philosophy. Anything with social benefit is abolished; anything with private profit is favoured.

Five reform pledges

Tsipras outlined a set of commitments. First, he promised to raise the salaries of teachers at all levels, from kindergarten through secondary school, calling current pay "shameful and undignified". Second, he proposed financial incentives for educators serving in border regions or areas with acute housing problems. Third, he pledged to abolish the Panhellenic university entrance exams, which he described as a system that creates "tremendous stress and pressure" on teenagers and turns high school into an exam preparation chamber. Fourth, he called for the creation of two-year post-secondary technical training programmes linked to the labour market, and for upgrading technical education within universities in cooperation with local market actors. Fifth, he announced plans to split the Ministry of Education and establish a new Ministry of Research, Innovation and Higher Education, giving special weight to research and young researchers.

Broader vision and citizen dialogue

The video is part of a series in which Tsipras answers questions from citizens, a format his party describes as a new form of political dialogue. He framed the proposals as a break from what he called a philosophy favouring private gain over social benefit, and stressed the need to invest in innovation and scientific knowledge to reverse the brain drain of young scientists leaving Greece.

Our goal is to make knowledge a value and education a right for all.