PASOK warns of crisis in Greek public education

The PASOK political party has issued an urgent call for the Greek government to address systemic issues within the public education system. Stefanos Parastatidis, the party's education official, warned that accumulated problems are nearing a crisis point.

A primary concern is a significant shortage of teaching staff. Despite recent recruitment phases for substitute teachers, an estimated 16,000 teaching vacancies remain unfilled one month after the school year began. Parastatidis noted that schools are attempting to manage these shortages by merging or canceling classes, resulting in larger group sizes of 27 to 28 students.

The party also criticized the state of school infrastructure. While the ‘Marietta Giannakou’ program provides funding for school improvements through donations from major banks, PASOK argues that these interventions are insufficient. The first two phases of the program cover only 669 schools, representing approximately 4.8% of the country's total school units. The party emphasized that school safety and quality should be a primary state responsibility rather than depending on private donations and selective interventions.