Requirements for appointment

Staff Involved in monitoring educational quality at school level includes inspectors and, to some extent, first education officers of the Ministry of Education and Culture. At the primary and pre-primary level of education, there are inspectors of general subjects and inspectors of special subjects. In order to apply for the post of inspector of general subjects, an applicant must have served as a headteacher for at least three years. To be an Inspector for special subjects, an applicant must have been a headteacher for at least three years or a primary school teacher for at least nineteen years, five of which must have been spent teaching the subject of specialization.

At the secondary school level, applicants for the post of the inspector are required to have postgraduate studies. They must have at least one year of postgraduate studies in Pedagogy or Educational Administration or in their subject of specialization. Applicants must also have completed a minimum of fifteen years of educational service, of which at least five spent in secondary education and two in a position not lower than that of the deputy headteacher of secondary education. ‘Very Good’ knowledge of at least one of the most commonly in use European languages is also required.

First education officers inspect schools among their other duties. Applicants for the post must have at least one year of postgraduate studies in Pedagogy or Educational Administration or in their subject of specialization. Applicants must also have completed a minimum of fifteen years of educational service in secondary education, of which at least two have been spent in a position with a salary scale not lower than A13. ‘Excellent’ knowledge of Greek and ‘Very Good’ knowledge of at least one of the most commonly spoken European languages is also a prerequisite.   

Other requirements for all the aforementioned positions include sound moral character, administrative ability, reliability and good judgment. For further information, see also Article 11.1: Quality Assurance in Early Childhood and School Education.  

Conditions of service

The main duties of inspectors, according to their schemes of service, are the monitoring of schools and the supervision, guidance, and appraisal of their teaching staff. They may also undertake other duties, such as administration at the central level, curriculum development, research, and others. School inspectors have no teaching duties.

Inspectors and First Education Officers are civil servants following the conditions of service in force for the wider public service, which are different from those of the public education service, mainly in terms of working time and holidays.

Further information on the conditions of service of teachers, is available from the Article 9.2: Conditions of Service for Teachers Working in Early Childhood and School Education and Article 9.3: Continuing Professional Development for Teachers Working in Early Childhood and School Education.