DEMOCRACY AD EXTREMIS

The new school year started with school lock outs from the pupils. Dozens of schools
are closed. The kids simply refuse to go to school, to attend classes. Their way of
demanding. They are not clear about what their demands are. They, reasonably,
demand that they have all the necessary teachers and a few other things. Such pupils
“strikes” are common in Greece. They are usually backed by their parents as well and
by their teachers who state that it is the children’s right to demand better schools by
preventing the schools from doing what they are meant to do. That the teachers thus
get free paid holidays is a side benefit to the teachers. That the kids do not get what
they were going to get from the school year does not seem to mater to the parents.
Neither does it mater that many, often most, of the pupils do not agree with the lock
outs. The right of the d y n a m i c minority prevails. That the taxpayers money is
wasted is of no consequence. This year, oh yes this happens nearly every year, one of
their demands is that the Greek Government backs out of its agreement with the E.U
and the I.M.F and rescinds the memorandum signed with them (which saved Greece
from catastrophy). According to the kids Greece can very well do without the 110
billion Euros it will receive in total and the cuts in Government spending required to
bring about the necessary changes for Greece to become what it is supposed to be.
Surprisingly the kids have not yet demanded that the voting age be lowered to 15.
Yes, Democracy in Greece is far ahead of everybody’s perception of Democracy.
In the area of higher education Greek Universities are examples of extreme
democracy. Professors are appointed only if the students approve of them. Students
groups are formed according to the political parties the students belong to. Politics
weigh enormously in the students actions. Those aspiring to head the University have
no hope if the students do not want them. Rules, regulations, everything must have the
approval of the students, so their teachers endeavor to please them in every way the
students want. The students who protest about something bring the teaching function
to a stop. They prevent other students who do not share their views from attending or
going for tests. No lectures, no classes, no tests, students loose the academic year,
with the ensuing financial repercussions to many. The right of the minority prevails.
Should the professors consider maters displeasing the students, they suffer the
consequence. Students can storm in senate meetings to express their opposition to the
issues discussed. A dean who ignored the students vociferous demand was confined to
his office (not permitted to leave) and the door of his office built up with bricks and
cement. The wall had to be broken down many hours later to free the dean. Yes one
gets the feeling that Greek Universities resemble the wild west. All of the above is
information from the media which also revealed that small HASHISH plantations
have been found in the garden of a Greek University. Law and order are not
indigenous to Greek Universities. Even hooded terrorists who join a march or protest
in the street to attack the police, break and burn cars, banks, storefronts, find refuge in
the grounds of Greek Universities, come out to hurl stones and bricks to the police
and then retreat back in the safety of the University grounds. The police is not allowed
to enter the grounds because of what is known as the a c a d e m i c a s y l u m. The
law provides legal asylum to the expression of every notion, perception, idea anybody
wishes to express within University grounds. This in itself is not necessary, since
Greece is a democracy and every one can express whatever one wants without
consequence. The chief of the communist party was recently telling the people to
disobey. In plain language : To hell with the Government : The idea of the academic
asylum does not seem to serve any constructive purpose. Lunatic asylums on the other
hand do serve a good purpose.

All pupils in schools and students in Universities are vehemently opposed to private
education. At the same time pupils go to costly tutorial schools, after school, to learn
what they do not learn well in the school. If the kids would, instead, go to a private
school they would not be worn out by the long hours of schooling and the cost to their
parents would not be appreciably more than it is with the fees charged by the tutorial
schools. As for University students the idea of private Universities is anathema, for
obvious reasons. Once they enter a Greek University they are not in any rush to finish.
There are students with more than ten years of lax effort who finally complete their
study. The degrees Greek Universities award are not as much respected by recruiters
of foreign companies in Greece as are those from Foreign Universities, or the
American University of Athens (a private institution). Of the top 400 Universities of
the World only one Greek University makes the list. The University of Athens is
ranked 286th.

Greece was, in ancient times, the cradle of civilization. It gave its wisdom and
ofcourse it imparted to the world its enlightened political system of social justice and
DEMOCRACY (the very word is Greek). To the Greek mind democracy is not
something static, it evolves with times and the Greeks, always ahead of the others,
have evolved the concept of democracy to its present extreme, to the detriment of
their educational standards. No mater. That the others receive better education, with
the accompanying economic benefits, is not of concern to Greek pupils and
University students. Theirs is the joy of extreme democracy.