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EACEA National Policies Platform:Eurydice
Organisation of vocational upper secondary education
Greece

Greece

6.Secondary and post-secondary non higher education

6.7Organisation of vocational upper secondary education

Last update: 3 February 2025

Types of institutions

Vocational non-compulsory secondary education is offered at epangelmatika lykeia (vocational upper secondary schools - EPAL), day or evening.

Under l. 4386/2016  epangelmatika lykeia administer two cycles of study:

  • The secondary education cycle, which is part of the formal educational system
  • The 'post-secondary year - apprenticeship class', that is a post-secondary education cycle, which is part of formal vocational  training under l. 4763/2020. School leaving certificate holders, secondary education cycle EPAL degree holders, as well as older types of technical vocational education schooling equivalent to EPAL graduates are eligible to enrol in 'post-secondary year - apprenticeship class'.

Details on 'post-secondary year - apprenticeship class' can be found in the relevant chapter  6.10 Organisation of post-secondary non-tertiary education.

The types of institutions offering vocational secondary education are summarised, as follows:

Day vocational upper secondary schools

Attendance at imerisia epangelmatika lykeia (day vocational upper secondary schools) is of 3-year duration and includes Α, Β and C grades. Lower secondary school graduates or equivalent certificate holders are eligible to  enroll in grade A without entry examinations.

Day vocational upper secondary schools (lykeia) amount to  345, 25 of which are model schools.

Evening vocational upper secondary schools

Esperina epangelmatika lykeia (evening vocational upper secondary schools) are established by a joint decision of the Ministers of Education and Finance.  Attendance lasts for 3 years (grades A, B and C).  These schools are attended either by adult students or underage working students (l. 4547/2018).

Minimum age required for enrolment in evening vocational lykeia is 15 years of age.Lower secondary school graduates or equivalent certificate holders are eligible to  enroll in grade A without entry examinations.  Certificates awarded by evening vocational lykeia and day vocational lykeia are equivalent.   

Evening vocational lykeia amount to 91.

Model vocational upper secondary schools 

They are established following a proposal of the Central Council of Vocational Education and Training (KSEEK) and a proposal of the relevant Council for the Association with Production and  Labor Market (SSPAE). Graduates of compulsory education are admitted to the first grade of PEPAL (Model  vocational upper secondary  schools) based on the degree of their diploma (l. 4763/2020).

The purpose of the Model  vocational upper secondary  schools (PEPAL) is:

  1. The implementation of the joint strategic planning for vocational education and training, with the participation of  social partners in their planning.
  2. The strengthening of the autonomy of  vocational education units, with the participation of the representatives of the local community.
  3. The promotion of educational research in practice, in collaboration with the respective schools and departments of Higher Education Institutes (AEI) of the country, in the teaching process of individual school subjects, as well as in the organization, administration, evaluation and relationship management at a school level.
  4. The development of research as well as educational, European and international collaborations.
  5. The training of teachers of vocational expertise in the subjects of their teaching. The training is assisted by higher education institutions and companies of the local area.
  6. The pilot implementation of new curricula, contemporary educational material, innovative teaching practices, quality assessment programs of educational work as well as material and technical infrastructure of the school units, new models of school administration and operation, and good practices and  methods of teaching and internship.
  7. The trial introduction of new professional fields and specialties prior to their being widely implemented.
  8. The harmonization of professional fields and specialties with the needs of the local community, aiming at the internship and career prospects of the graduates.

The promotion of students from one class to another is governed by the provisions on the promotion and graduation of EPAL (Vocational Upper Secondary Schools) students (l. 4610/2019).

Also, an internship is established during studentship,   at Grade C of  twenty-two (22) days continuously or in parts, which is included in the curriculum of the laboratory courses (l. 4763/2020).
 


Unified special vocational lower and upper secondary schools

Unified special vocational lower and upper secondary schools operate under a single administration, head of the school and a common teacher’s board.

Unified special vocational lower and upper secondary schools include grades A, B, C, D of lower secondary school and grades A, B, C, D of upper secondary school.

Students who have graduated either from a General or Special Primary School or from grade A or B of Workshops for Special Vocational Education and Training (EEEEK) may enroll, following the opinion of Centre of interdisciplinary assessment, counseling & support (ΚΕDASY).

Students up to the age of 16 have the right to enroll. After the completion of the students' studies in grade D, a high school diploma is granted.

An  application is created, which is accessible through the Unified Digital Portal of the Public Administration "gov.gr" and meets all accessibility standards for people with disabilities, with the aim of providing individual career counseling services to upper secondary school students. The application is developed and operated by the "National Organization for the Certification of Qualifications and Vocational Guidance" (EOPPEP) on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Religion and Sports. First grade students from all types of upper secondary schools have the right to access all the above vocational guidance services. The aim is to establish their inclinations and skills, so that they can manage their personal and professional development themselves. Each user has his/her own individual access codes. 

The timetables of the Unified special vocational lower secondary schools are drawn up based on Ministerial Decision   103832/Δ3/26-8-2021.

The timetables of the Unified special vocational upper secondary schools are drawn up based on Ministerial Decision  136986/Δ3/20-08-2018.

 Special Vocational Education and Training Workshops (EEEEK)

According to l. 4415/2016 , the Special Vocational Education Workshops (EEEEK) are secondary education school units, are part of compulsory secondary education and are administratively under the relevant Directorate of Secondary Education.

Graduates of general or special education primary schools up to the age of 16, who face difficulties following the curriculum of lower secondary school and have disabilities and/or special educational needs, can  enroll in the Special vocational education and training workshops (EEEEEK), following a recommendation from the Centers for Interdisciplinary Assessment, Counseling & Support (KEDASY).

Studying at Special vocational education and training workshops includes 6 grades. 

More information on school units operating in the context of special education can be found in chapter 12

Geographical accessibility

In order to provide all students with equal learning opportunities, vocational education school units operate throughout the country.  However, each school unit does not offer all specializations; this depends upon the preferences of students, their social-economic circumstances and the particular needs of each region.

In case students have to travel long distances to arrive at their school, responsibility for their transportation lies with the regional authority where the school unit is located (by virtue of Mnisterial Decision 50025/26-09-2018). Regional authorities offer free transportation to public upper secondary school students. Students having completed secondary education are not entitled to free transport.

Admission requirements and choice of school

Lower secondary school graduates or equivalent certificate holders are eligible to enroll in grade A of  vocational upper secondary schools (EPAL) without entry examinations (Μinisterial Decision 79942/ΓΔ4/21-05-2019).

Taking into consideration that schools in the country do not administer the full range of areas of study carried out by grade B and all specialisations run by grade C, each student selects a school based on his/her preferences.

Age levels and grouping of pupils/students

Day vocational upper secondary schools (EPAL) are attended by pupils beyond the age of 15 years.

The pupils’ distribution to grades is mainly age-homogeneous.  However, there are exceptions.  Students completing their studies in general  upper secondary schools (lykeia) and wish to acquire a specialisation diploma from EPAL, or older EPAL graduates who wish to acquire a second diploma on a different specialisation, can also be older.

Each class may be divided into groups, depending on the total number of students.  In accordance with Ministerial Decision 42712/Γ2/20-03-2014, the maximum number of students in classes of a grade, sector or specialisation of vocational upper secondary school (EPAL), is 25. 
In the case of evening vocational upper secondary schools, the number of students for grades C cannot exceed 22 (l. 4610/2019).

The teaching of different subjects - courses of general education or of specialisations, as described in curricula of the different grades in vocational upper secondary school, is delivered by teachers of the respective specialisation.   For the proper functioning of the school unit, the teaching of a course / courses may be assigned to teachers of another specialization, related to that of the course in question. 

General education subjects taught in vocational lykeia grades A, B and C and specialty and flexible subjects taught in vocational upper secondary schools (EPAL) grade B and C are assigned to secondary education teachers in accordance to their specialisation, as specified by Ministerial Decision Φ22/75401/Δ4/10-05-2018  and Joint Ministerial decision Φ22/134291/Δ4/08-08-2018. Flexible courses in vocational education for classes A model and experimental schools are determined by Ministerial Decision Φ9/116550/Δ4/17-09-2021.

Teachers of the Vocational upper secondary school are designated in each school as Sector Heads, corresponding in number and specialty to the sectors operating at the vocational upper secondary school, as well as one General Sector Head.  The Sector Heads have full responsibility for the operation, planning and organization of the educational work of their fields (theoretical and laboratory parts), as well as general courses.

Organisation of the school year

The organisation of the school year of EPAL is determined at central level.

The school year for day and evening upper secondary vocational schools, begins on 1 September every year and ends on 31 August of the following year.

The teaching year in vocational upper secondary schools, day and evening, begins on 1 September every year and ends on 30 June of the following year.

Teaching is carried out during the following periods called terms:

  • Term A from 11 September to 20 January
  • Term B from 21 January until the end of lessons (last week of May).

All exams for  vocational upper secondary schools (EPAL)  students are carried out after the end of term B in the period specified by the competent bodies of the Ministry of Education and end on 30 June.  There are two exam periods: one during the first fortnight of June and one in September.

During the summer holidays, each EPAL is open for one day per week for administrative reasons.

The teaching year encompasses Christmas and Easter holidays of a total duration of 4 weeks.  Summer holidays for students last from 1 July to 10 September.

The days of school operation amount to 189 per year approximately and are organised in weeks of 5 days (Monday to Friday).  Teaching time amounts to 35 hours per week for day EPAL and 30 for evening EPAL.

Timetables are defined based on detailed curricula by ministerial decisions and are applied to all vocational upper secondary schools (EPAL) of the territory.  Details regarding timetables of vocational upper secondary schools (EPAL) are available in the  section 6.11 Teaching and learning in vocational upper secondary education. 

Organisation of the school day and week

Teaching time per grade is centrally defined and applied for the same type of upper secondary vocational school (EPAL) throughout the country.

Classes in day EPAL begin at 08:15 and end at 14:10 while in evening EPAL, classes begin at 17:00 or 17:30 or 18:00 or 18:30 and end between 20:50 and 23:00, depending on the alternative scenaria as regards operating times, as described below.

The distribution of lessons per week is not centrally defined and falls under the responsibility of schools.


  Day vocational upper secondary school timetable

  Teaching hours Classes (beginning and end of teaching hours) Duration of teaching hours Duration of breaks
MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY
1st hour 08.15 09.00 45' 5'
2nd hour 09.05 - 09.50 45' 10'
3rd hour 10.00 - 10.45 45' 10'
4th hour 10.55 - 11.40 45' 10'
5th hour 11.50 - 12.35 45' 10'
6th hour 12.45. - 13.25 40' 5'
7th hour 13.30 - 14.10 40' -

TABLE (1) Evening vocational upper secondary school timetable

Classes begin: 17:00

Classes end: 21:30 (3-year attendance)                     

  Teaching hours Classes (beginning and end of teaching hours) Duration of teaching hours Duration of breaks Grades
MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY
1st hour 17.00 - 17.40 40' - A, B, C, D
2nd hour 17.40 - 18.20 40' 15' A, B, C, D
3rd hour 18.35 - 19.15 40' - A, B, C, D
4th hour 19.15 - 19.55 40' 15' A, B, C, D
5th hour 20.10 - 20.50 40' - A, B, C, D
6th hour 20.50 - 21:30 40' - A, B

TABLE (2) Evening vocational upper secondary school timetable

Classes begin: 17:30

Classes end: 22:00 (3-year attendance)                    

  Teaching hours Classes (beginning and end of teaching hours) Duration of teaching hours Duration of breaks Grades
MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY
1st hour 17.30 - 18.10 40' - A, B, C, D
2nd hour 18.10 - 18.50 40' 15' A, B, C, D
3rd hour 19.05 - 19.45 40' - A, B, C, D
4th hour 19.45 - 20.25 40' 15' A, B, C, D
5th hour 20.40 - 21.20 40' - A, B, C, D
6th hour 21.20 - 22:00 40' - A, B,

TABLE (3) Evening vocational upper secondary school timetable

Classes begin: 18:00

Classes end:    22:30 (3-year attendance)            

  Teaching hours Classes (beginning and end of teaching hours) Duration of teaching hours Duration of breaks Grades
MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY
1st hour 18.00 - 18.40 40' - A, B, C, D
2nd hour 18.40 - 19.20 40' 15' A, B, C, D
3rd hour 19.35 - 20.15 40' - A, B, C, D
4th hour 20.15 - 20.55 40' 15' A, B, C, D
5th hour 21.10 - 21.50 40' - A, B, C, D
6th hour 21.50 - 22:30 40' - A, B

TABLE (4) Evening vocational upper secondary school timetable

Classes begin: 18:30

Classes end: 23:00 (3-year attendance)            

  Teaching hours Classes (beginning and end of teaching hours) Duration of teaching hours Duration of breaks Grades
MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY
1st hour 18.30 - 19.10 40' - A, B, C, D
2nd hour 19.10 - 19.50 40' 15' A, B, C, D
3rd hour 20.05 - 20.45 40' - A, B, C, D
4th hour 20.45 - 21.25 40' 15' A, B, C, D
5th hour 21.40 - 22.20 40' - A, B, C, D
6th hour 22.20 - 23:00 40' - A, B

Each school unit, apart from regular classrooms, includes support rooms, a fitness centre, a conference hall, a library and a science laboratory.  Each grade has its own classroom throughout the school year while other rooms are used alternately by various groups of pupils in accordance with the needs of the weekly programme or special events.