Pupils, university students and teachers rallied in Athens and other Greek cities Nov. 5 for more public education funding and better school conditions, as Eurostat put Greece’s 2023 spending below the EU average.
Euronews and ANSA reported that police estimated about 4,000 participants across Athens and Thessaloniki. ANSA separately reported more than 2,000 people in Athens and demonstrations in Heraklion and Patras.
Euronews said marchers moved from the University of Athens area toward parliament. CNN Greece reported that demonstrators left bags of rubble outside the building to draw attention to school conditions.
The Greek secondary teachers’ union OLME had called a four-hour work stoppage so teachers could join the rallies. The union said schools lacked funding, staff and infrastructure, while crowded classes and rising costs were putting pressure on families. OLME also linked its action to demonstrations and strike activity planned in France that day.
Eurostat’s 2023 data show Greece’s public education spending, from early childhood through university level, amounted to 3.3% of GDP. The comparable EU figure was 4.7%.
CNN Greece and Euronews reported that demonstrators also objected to the government’s plan to revise Article 16 of the Greek Constitution to permit non-state universities. The Education Ministry says the proposal would adjust the rules for establishing those institutions while retaining Article 16. The Hellenic Parliament’s English text of the constitution says university-level education is currently provided by fully self-governing public-law institutions.
The Nov. 5 rally followed an Oct. 21 Athens protest over education funding and student housing costs, which EconoTimes covered in an earlier report.
