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EACEA National Policies Platform:Eurydice
Quality assurance

Greece

11.Quality assurance

Last update: 27 November 2023

Over the last decade, quality assurance in education has been the focus of educational policy. Within this context an effort to integrate the procedures of internal and external evaluation of the educational work of the school unit into the institutionalized structure of the educational system is continually been made.

 Self-evaluation and external evaluation interact with and complement each other. Hence, they support feedback and improvement across the various levels of the educational system.  

Pre-school and school education

A structured and holistic framework has been instituted for the assurance of quality in Primary and Secondary Education, based on internal and external evaluation procedures of the school unit, the educational staff and the education leaders.

Specifically, Law 4692/20 establishes the internal (self-evaluation) of the school unit which aims to improve the educational project, through the development of the school unit itself and the professional development of the teachers.

By law 4823/21 it is provided that the evaluation of educational leaders, teachers and members of the Special Educational Staff and Special Support Staff is established; it aims to improve their individual performance and the quality of public education and pedagogical, teaching in general and support work provided by educational and support structures.

Higher education

In Higher Education, the provisions Law 4653/2020 regulate quality assurance. The external quality assurance is implemented by the National Authority for Higher Education.

The National Authority for Higher Education is an independent administrative authority whose mission is to ensure high quality in Higher Education. According to Law 4653/2020, National Authority for Higher Education is the continuation of the Authority for Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education, founded in 2006 and operating ever since.

The National Authority for Higher Education is an administratively autonomous party supervised by the Minister of Education, exercising legality control.

The Authority's mission is to:

  1. contribute to the formulation and implementation of the national strategy for higher education and the distribution of the grant of the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and
  2. evaluate and certify the quality of the operation of HEIs.

The Authority guarantees the transparency of all actions; it also posts on its website the activities it develops and the decisions it takes. It is a member of ENQA and applies standards for the certification of the quality of HEIs and their study programs, which are aligned with the guiding principles and directives of the European Higher Education Area (ESG 2015).

Furthermore, according to the provisions of Law 4957/2022, the national framework for the internal quality assurance of HEIs was enriched by upgrading the institution of the Quality Assurance Units (MODIP) of HEIs. With the new regulation, MODIPs acquire a clear and specific organizational status in the internal institutional framework of HEIs and expand their responsibilities for the internal quality assurance of all academic and administrative units and all study programs of HEIs of all types and levels.

Lifelong learning

Lifelong learning activities at all levels (national, regional, local) are governed by the principle of monitor and evaluation by the General Secretariat for Lifelong Learning.

The aim is to evaluate the overall educational work and the continuous improvement of the quality of the provided services.

An important role holds the National Organisation for the Certification of Qualifications and Vocational Guidance (EOPPEP), which, among other responsibilities, has developed the National Qualifications Framework and implemented the certification system for adult education trainers of non-formal education.

EOPPEP is the National Reference Point (NRP) for quality assurance; it represents Greece in the European Network for Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training (EQAVET).

The new Regulation of Vocational Training Institutes (IEK) provides for the creation of a new quality framework for Vocational Training Institutes (IEK) with target setting, clear criteria and quality indicators. The framework has been developed and is expected to be institutionalized in the near future.

Here is a brief overview of the legislation governing apprenticeships and Vocational Education and Training (VET):

  • Regulation on the Operation of Vocational Training Institutes (I.E.K.) is under the  General Secretariat for Lifelong Learning of the Ministry Education and Religious Affairs. (Κ5/ Κ5/ 160259/15-12-2021).
  • National System of Vocational Education, Training and Lifelong Learning (law 4763/2020).
  • Implementation framework of apprenticeship: joint ministerial decision 26381/20-02-2017
  • Quality framework for apprenticeship: joint ministerial decision 26385/20-02-2017
  • Quality framework for VET curricula: ministerial decision 26412/20-2-2017
  • Assessment framework for students of vocational upper secondary schools and trainees' assessment of post-secondary year – apprenticeship class: law 4610/2019.
  • National System of Vocational Education, Training and Lifelong Learning (law 4763/2020).