Greece sees sharp decline in arts student enrollment

Greece is experiencing a significant decline in arts education enrollment. According to ELSTAT, the number of students in music, dance, and drama schools fell by 11.6% in 2025, dropping to 47,093 students—the lowest figure in eleven years. This represents a loss of approximately 15,000 students since 2022. Conversely, the number of teaching staff increased by 6.2% to 9,444, resulting in a ratio of roughly five students per teacher.

A structural shift is approaching with Law 5291/2026, which will establish a Higher School of Performing Arts and transfer oversight of arts education from the Ministry of Culture to the Ministry of Education.

In the broader cultural sector, the Ministry of Culture increased subsidies for museums, theaters, and other cultural bodies by 10.4% in 2025, totaling 84.7 million euros. Additionally, the Ministry expropriated 39 properties of archaeological interest during the year.

Simultaneously, educators and organizations like ELME Corfu have raised alarms regarding the state of aesthetic education in public schools. They report a degradation of music, theater, and visual arts subjects due to teacher shortages, lack of infrastructure, and insufficient permanent appointments, arguing that these subjects are being sidelined by fiscal policies.