Students’ access to higher education: Views of high school teachers v. 2

The issue of admission of students to higher education is directly linked to the operation of the tutorial. For decades, the focus of preparing students for entrance examinations has been shifting from the school to the tutorial centre. The consolidation in the minds of pupils and parents of the necessity of the latter as the most important factor in preparing for the national examinations is so strong that it is marginalising the school, which is the main state institution for the socialisation, education and training of young people. This book explores the views of teachers in secondary education regarding the reasons that push students in Greece to attend tutorials, the reasons why the official state has failed to curb the phenomenon despite its repeated proclamations, and the ways in which it might be feasible for tutorials to cease to be considered necessary by parents and students. The participating teachers felt that the situation could perhaps be reversed by a substantial reform of the higher education access system that would decouple high school from national examinations.