Teacher’s letter of resignation from the post of deputy vocational high school (EPAL) country is breathtaking. He was hired just 10 days ago in the Ionian Island and there, in addition to his mandatory weekly schedule, he was assigned to teach at EPAL and two high schools. From his early days at EPAL, he was faced with a situation of violence and indecent behavior from students who wanted to impose their scumbag on a rookie professor. “Come in, sit down, screw up, don’t disappear and don’t you dare interrupt anyone,” he was told, as he writes in his resignation letter.

This is certainly not the first incident that has come to light and demonstrates the degradation of EPAL. So why professional training – about 101,000 students in about 350 EPAL schools – remains the poor cousin of the Greek school at a time when the labor market is looking for middle managers and unemployment is firmly in the double digits? What is the state doing? Critical aspects of the issue: the ingrained opinion of families that only the university provides work, vague frameworks in schools, political confusion of the Ministry of Education. On the other hand, IEP through 360 new curricula is developing a new page for EPAL.

Biology teacher sent a letter to the information site www.alfavita.grwhere it is posted. He boldly describes a situation that destroys the educational process. He does not want to divulge details about himself or his school: “I think the delay school. In addition, it mostly happens in various EPAL countries,” he emphasizes. In an attempt to condense the facts in the letter, the teacher was treated with complete disrespect by a group of EPAL students who scolded him, threatened him, wanted to show that they own the class and, in fact, assisted by an out-of-class “bully.” “All I can tell you is that the teachers’ union is going to discuss how we’re going to solve this problem,” he said. answer yesterday to “K” EPAL teachers on the island.

A key factor in the degradation is the perception of the Greek family and society that only higher education provides a job.

A key factor in discrediting vocational education is the perception of the Greek family and society that only a higher education guarantees a job. It is significant that over the decades, 70% of high school graduates went on to secondary school (which led to the passing of the general Greek exams for universities) and 30% – EPAL. So, students with low academic performance are sent to EPAL, as they say, “if they don’t get letters, let them learn art.” There are no qualitative studies on the cognitive level of EPAL students because Ministry of Education. “We have children from low economic and social strata, with family problems that bring them to school. In order to balance the school, the work of teachers and parents is required,” Mr. Pausanias Daralas, director of the Trikala EPAL Standard. “They can’t pay tuition, they don’t have parents to help them in school, they live in disadvantaged areas, there are children who feel abandoned, who don’t have basic things, who have no hope. Thus, they work like a solvent in the lesson. Note that they are not the majority, but the role of these children is decisive,” adds the EPAL philologist. Significantly, according to with information from “K”that quite a few EPAL students are pursuing a bachelor’s degree (which requires them to be fired) but are not interested in pursuing a major, which requires higher grades.

The pandemic has complicated conditions in society, with visibility also at EPAL, with students willing to let off steam and impose themselves; the only thing that will possibly “confirm” them, as they live without hope for a better future. At the same time, teachers feel vulnerable to the aggressive behavior of students without pedagogical support in their work. Such as emphasizes in “K” the director of EPAL, “There are many problems, and the teacher is in the middle. Don’t forget that societies are small. They are children of friends, from the same area.”

Teacher with tied hands gets in the way

“A frustrated teacher with his hands tied, who is afraid, who cannot inspire, automatically ceases to be a teacher.” This says the teacher who has filed a letter of resignation “K”. due to the conditions that some students face at school. In particular, in his text, he states: “I do not think that my glorification or deconstruction can offer anything significant for solving the problems of education and, accordingly, society. Of course, this is not only a problem of some EPAL, but a deeper and more significant one that concerns our state as a whole. In my resignation letter, I specifically mention smartphones, I mean digital alienation. This is a critical question that needs to be taken out of the narrow scientific context in which it is being discussed. In my statements, I mention the educational role of the media. To ignore all this violence, all this vulgarity, which has been passing through cinema and “news” for many years and educating and educating the whole society, is at least hypocritical. You know what is happening on the other side of the Atlantic. Students go to school in bulletproof vests, and teachers are armed just in case. This society cannot be our model. We don’t really need an external standard. We ourselves must redefine what kind of society we want, press the brake where necessary and the gas where necessary. I will point out again that the purpose of my letter is not to find victims of scapegoats or to punish children and extracurricular activities. These questions cannot be solved with fireworks, they concern the deeper pathologies of our education system and the functioning of our state. It requires organization, coordination, method and patience. Timelessness is required. The current sad state of affairs is not associated with one or two governments, nor exclusively with the central government, although, together with the media, it has proven that it can bring about dramatic changes (for better or for worse) if it wants to. The problem in education is related to issues of self-esteem. A frustrated teacher with his hands tied, who is afraid, unable to inspire, automatically ceases to be a teacher. The same applies to children. Such behavior, as described by me, indicates low self-esteem, frustration. This is a complex problem associated with wrong standards, neo-enrichment, alienation, commercialization, lack of aesthetics, romance and ideology. I am waiting for developments and at the same time trying to restart my life. I have become a recipient of touching solidarity, especially from beloved Crete.”

On this occasion, the Ministry of Education Niki Kerameos stated yesterday (SKAI TV) that an order for an investigation had been issued, while IEP President Giannis Antoniou said K. that 360 new curricula are being prepared – expected in early 2023 – that will change the content of vocational education and link VET to market needs, making it attractive.