Conclusions of the 107th Synod of Rectors

The 107th Synod of Rectors of Greek Universities was held in Mystras from 10 to 13 December 2024, under the Chairmanship of the Rector of the University of Peloponnese, Professor Athanasios Katsis and the other members of the Presidium of the Synod, Rector of the University of Macedonia, Professor Stylianos Katranidis, and of the Rector of Pantheon University of Social and Political Sciences, Professor Christina Koulouri.

               In the proceedings of the Synod of Rectors and Presidents D.E. which took place on Friday December 13, 2024, the political leadership of the Ministry of Education, Religion & Sports, Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis and the General Secretary of Higher Education Nikolaos Papaioannou participated. The President of the National Authority of Higher Education, Periklis Mitkas, and the President of INEDIVIM, Anna Rokophyllou, also participated.

               The meeting confirmed the sincere cooperation with the political leadership with the aim of strengthening the Hellenic Public University.

               At the Synod, critical issues that concern Greek Public Universities were discussed, such as resource issues (human and financial), as well as issues of the institutional framework, the main of which is the implementation of the provision of the law that provides for the process of deleting students.

               The Synod highlighted the chronic understaffing problems of the Universities mainly in administrative staff and proposed the significant reinforcement of administrative and other support staff of the universities on a permanent basis, as well as to extend the rule of one (1) recruitment for one (1) departure in the administrative staff.

               They also pointed out the big problem with covering operational costs and therefore the necessity to continue increasing the regular budget at least at the same rate as in previous years. An immediate priority is the payment of an extraordinary grant from the regular budget to meet the ongoing fixed and inflexible costs of the universities.

Also imperative is the need to find funding to renovate and upgrade the infrastructure of the universities and particularly the student residences, where thousands of students live in conditions that, by common consent, are not satisfactory.

               The Synod presented the problems expected to arise from the implementation of the articles concerning the election and development of faculty members and submitted proposals to improve the process, while requesting a reasonable time extension for the start of the implementation of the new system

               The malfunctions that have been observed during the implementation of the provisions of Law were also highlighted. 4957/2022 regarding the responsibilities of university administration bodies and it was proposed to investigate the possibility of its improvement in cooperation with the Rectors' Conference.

               Valuing positively the policy of strengthening the internationalization of Universities, the Synod requested a further increase in funds to include as many proposals as possible to establish postgraduate programs in collaboration with foreign institutions.

               The Rector of the Agricultural University of Athens and the Rectors of the Universities of the Aegean, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Crete, Patras, and Macedonia submitted a joint proposal to the Minister of the Ministry of Education, Religion & Sports, Mr Kyriakos Pierrakakis and specifically the addition of the following paragraph in par. 3 of article 246 of N. 4957:

"3. They do not fall under the salary ceiling of par. 2 member fees of D.E.P., E.E.P. and E.D.I.P., as well as researchers and Special Operating Scientists (E.L.E.) from participating in all kinds of E.L.K.E. programs. of A.E.I. and the research and technological bodies of article 13A of the law. 4310/2014 (A' 258), which are financed by the same, national, international or private resources, in accordance with article 230. For the above fees there is no obligation to submit the responsible declaration of article 2 of the law. 1256/1982 as applicable.".

               At the 4th Meeting of the Vice-Rectors of International Relations and Extroversion, Mrs Eleni Miliou, Vice Rector for the European University, Internationalization and Student Affairs of  Agricultural University of Athens made a presentation entitled "Short-term study programs and micro-credentials as internationalization tools" and related proposals that were included in the findings.

               Finally, the Synod of Chancellors expressed its concern about the consequences of the implementation of the provision for the horizontal deletion of students. He believes that the critical difference between those who are inactive and those who struggle to complete their studies cannot be overlooked.

               It therefore suggests that specificities should be taken into account and that this serious issue should be addressed with social sensitivity.