Κομισιόν: Τα 8 επίπεδα των ελληνικών τίτλων σπουδών στην Ευρώπη

Η Κομισιόν θα αναρτήσει αύριο Τετάρτη   τους ελληνικούς τίτλους σπουδών , για τη τυπική εκπαίδευση, και συγκεκριμένα για την Πρωτοβάθμια , Δευτεροβάθμια, ΙΕΚ και τριτοβάθμια εκπαίδευση,  που αντιστοιχούν σε αντίστοιχους τίτλους στην Ευρώπη.

Τα οκτώ επίπεδα του Εθνικού Πλαισίου Προσόντων θα παρουσιαστούν  σε ένα τόμο 140 σελίδων,  αύριο Τετάρτη στο υπουργείο Παιδείας, από εμπειρογνώμονες, εκπρόσωπους  του CEDEFOP, κοινωνικούς εταίρους, τον πρόεδρο  του ΕΟΠΠΕΠ Β. Δαγδιλέλη  και στελέχη του Οργανισμού, παρουσία του υπουργού Παιδείας Κώστα Γαβρόγλου.

Πρέπει εδώ να σημειωθεί, προς αποφυγήν παρερμηνειών, ότι η αντιστοίχιση του Εθνικού με το Ευρωπαϊκό Πλαίσιο Προσόντων δεν αποτελεί αναγνώριση επαγγελματικών δικαιωμάτων, αλλά αναγνώριση ακαδημαϊκών/επιστημονικών προσόντων (τα επαγγελματικά προσόντα καθορίζονται από τις εθνικές νομοθεσίες).

Τις διαδικασίες αντιστοίχισης είχαν μπλοκάρει οι εκπρόσωποι των κοινωνικών εταίρων με καταγγελία τους στην Κομισιόν την Άνοιξη του 2014 για πολυάριθμες περιπτώσεις πλαστών και παράνομων τίτλων σπουδών, με αποτέλεσμα οι ευρωπαϊκοί θεσμοί να ζητήσουν από την ελληνική πλευρά τη λήψη συγκεκριμένων μέτρων για να αποκατασταθεί η διαφάνεια, η νομιμότητα στην έκδοση τίτλων και η διασφάλιση της ποιότητας των εκπαιδευτικών υπηρεσιών.

Τα 8 επίπεδα του Εθνικού Πλαισίου Προσόντων

Η ελληνική εισήγηση των οκτώ επιπέδων του Εθνικού Πλαισίου Προσόντων που η Κομισιόν αναμένεται να αναρτήσει κι επίσημα την Τετάρτη  ,έχει ως εξής

ΤΟ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΟ ΠΛΑΙΣΙΟ ΠΡΟΣΟΝΤΩΝ

ΕΠΙΠΕΔΟ 1: Απολυτήριο Δημοτικού

ΕΠΙΠΕΔΟ 2: Απολυτήριο Γυμνασίου

ΕΠΙΠΕΔΟ 3: Απολυτήριο Σχολής Επαγγελματικής Κατάρτισης (ΣΕΚ), Απολυτήριο μεταγυμνασιακού ΙΕΚ

ΕΠΙΠΕΔΟ 4: Απολυτήριο Γενικού Λυκείου, Απολυτήριο ΕΠΑΛ-ΕΠΑΣ

ΕΠΙΠΕΔΟ 5: Απολυτήριο Τεχνικού-Επαγγελματικού Λυκείου με τάξη μαθητείας (σ.σ. αναμένεται νομοθετική ρύθμιση από το υπουργείο Παιδείας) , Πτυχίο ΙΕΚ, Πτυχίο μεταδευτεροβάθμιας εκπαίδευσης

ΕΠΙΠΕΔΟ 6: Πανεπιστημιακός τίτλος- Τίτλος ΤΕΙ

ΕΠΙΠΕΔΟ 7: Μεταπτυχιακός τίτλος ειδίκευσης

ΕΠΙΠΕΔΟ 8: Διδακτορικό δίπλωμα

Τα 8 επίπεδα του Εθνικού Πλαισίου Προσόντων καλύπτουν ολόκληρο το φάσμα των προσόντων από την πρωτοβάθμια έως την ανώτατη εκπαίδευση. Κάθε επίπεδο περιλαμβάνει ένα σύνολο γνώσεων, δεξιοτήτων και ικανοτήτων που καθορίζουν τα μαθησιακά αποτελέσματα. Τα μαθησιακά αποτελέσματα συγκροτούν τα προσόντα του αντίστοιχου επιπέδου.

ΠΑΤΗΣΤΕ ΕΔΩ ΓΙΑ ΝΑ ΔΕΙΤΕ ΤΑ ΕΠΙΠΕΔΑ Ε.Π.Π.

Τύποι Προσόντων

Τα προσόντα κατηγοριοποιούνται σε τύπους. Οι Τύποι Προσόντων αντιπροσωπεύουν ομάδες τίτλων με κοινά χαρακτηριστικά. Η χρήση των Τύπων Προσόντων διευκολύνει κατά τη διαδικασία κατηγοριοποίησης των τίτλων σπουδών, οι οποίοι κατατάσoνται στο ίδιο επίπεδο.

ΠΑΤΗΣΤΕ ΕΔΩ ΓΙΑ ΝΑ ΔΕΙΤΕ ΤΟΥΣ ΤΥΠΟΥΣ ΠΡΟΣΟΝΤΩΝ

Φορείς Χορήγησης

Ο φορέας που εκδίδει τις πιστοποιήσεις (τα πιστοποιητικά, τα διπλώματα ή τους τίτλους) που αναγνωρίζουν επίσημα τα μαθησιακά αποτελέσματα (γνώσεις, δεξιότητες και ικανότητες) ενός ατόμου, έπειτα από μία διαδικασία αξιολόγησης και επικύρωσης.

ΠΑΤΗΣΤΕ ΕΔΩ ΓΙΑ ΝΑ ΔΕΙΤΕ ΤΟΥΣ ΦΟΡΕΙΣ ΧΟΡΗΓΗΣΗ

Το Εθνικό Πλαίσιο Προσόντων (NQF), συνοδευόμενο από την έκθεση του υπουργείου Παιδείας- στην  οποία γίνεται αναφορά και στην αξιολόγηση των εκπαιδευτικών- παρουσίασε τριμελής ελληνική αντιπροσωπεία με επικεφαλής τον Πρόεδρο του ΔΣ του ΕΟΠΠΕΠ κ. Δαγλιλέλη τον περασμένο Δεκέμβριο, στη συνεδρίαση του EQF Advisory Group (τομέα της Κομισιόν) στο Βερολίνο,  στο πλαίσιο των διαδικασιών αντιστοίχισής του με το Ευρωπαϊκό (EQF).

Στην ελληνική  έκθεση    που παρουσιάστηκε  στο Βερολίνο μεταξύ άλλων περιγράφονται ενέργειες στις οποίες θα προβεί το υπουργείο Παιδείας, προκειμένου να προβεί στην αντιστοίχιση:

1.    Το Υπουργείο Παιδείας προχωρεί σε ενδελεχή έρευνα για να εξασφαλιστεί ότι δεν θα υπάρξουν στο μέλλον περιπτώσεις πλαστών και παράνομων τίτλων και αναζητεί λύσεις εξέτασης της επικύρωσης των τίτλων από τα συγκεκριμένα σχολεία από το 1999 έως το 2008 μετά την παρέμβαση  των Επιθεωρητών της Δημόσιας Διοίκησης. Κάθε πιθανή λύση θα συζητηθεί διεξοδικά με τους κοινωνικούς εταίρους.

2.    Η πολιτική ηγεσία του Υπουργείου Παιδείας θέλει να δηλώσει ότι, όπως σε οποιαδήποτε άλλη χώρα:

a.     η επίτευξη διαφάνειας ως προς τις ικανότητες και τα προσόντα του διδακτικού προσωπικού είναι ζωτικής σημασίας.

b.    Είτε γίνεται αναφορά σε ιδιωτικά είτε σε δημόσια σχολεία, είτε στο τυπικό είτε στο μη τυπικό εκπαιδευτικό σύστημα, η αναγκαιότητα αξιολόγησης των εκπαιδευτικών ως προς την ικανότητά τους να εκτελούν τα εργασιακά καθήκοντά τους, είναι διαπιστωμένη στην Ελλάδα και καταβάλλεται μεγάλη προσπάθεια για να ολοκληρωθεί.

3.    Το Υπουργείο Παιδείας έχει δηλώσει τη σταθερή πολιτική δέσμευσή του να ανακτήσει τον πλήρη έλεγχο της λειτουργίας των ιδιωτικών σχολείων. Όσον αφορά, μάλιστα, την ιδιωτική πρωτοβάθμια, δευτεροβάθμια και ανώτερη δευτεροβάθμια εκπαίδευση (επίπεδα 1,2 και 4 του Πλαισίου Προσόντων) το υπουργείο δεσμεύεται να υιοθετήσει νέες διαδικασίες για τον έλεγχο της εκπαιδευτικής διαδικασίας και για την επικύρωση των προσόντων που παρέχονται. Αυτό θα ισχύει επίσης για τα πιστοποιητικά και τα πτυχία που χορηγήθηκαν στο οποίο γίνεται αναφορά και στην αξιολόγηση των εκπαιδευτικών,κατά τα τελευταία χρόνια (από το 2002 έως σήμερα).

ΑΚΟΛΟΥΘΕΙ ΤΟ ΠΛΗΡΕΣ ΑΓΓΛΙΚΟ ΚΕΙΜΕΝΟ ΠΟΥ ΚΑΤΕΘΕΣΕ ΣΤΗΝ ΚΟΜΙΣΙΟΝ, ΣΤΟ ΒΕΡΟΛΙΝΟ Η ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΠΛΕΥΡΑ

Latest developments of the Hellenic Qualifications Framework

Response to the EQF Advisory Group comments

THE SOCIOECONOMIC CONTEXT

Reduction of GDP

Greek political, economic and social conditions as formulated in the last years are being transformed rapidly. During recent years, Greece has been suffering from a multifaceted and deep economic crisis, which appears in the form of debt crisis, under the pressure of which, the country has introduced and is implementing challenging fiscal adjustment measures.  As a result, there is a long and cumulative reduction of GDP.

Also, the productive structure of the country has significantly weakened because of disinvestment, industrialization and over-indebtedness. Small and medium-sized enterprises, which employ a very important part of the country's workforce and form a large part of GDP, have been affected by the crisis (a 40% of them have closed in recent years).

Unemployment

This includes the underinvestment in critical areas of the state, particularly social structures such as health, education and many other social benefits. Social impacts are particularly pronounced, with the labor sector being acutely affected.  Unemployment in Greece has almost reached a 30%, while being much higher among young people.  Increased workplace competition and increasing time off work, leads to the shift of a great part of the economically inactive population to search, among others, for new qualifications – qualifications titles, in order to enrich their CV.

Migration Refugees

Certainly, the need for VET provision, certification and quality assurance is constantly increasing. Simultaneously, as high unemployment leads many to migrate in order to seek and find work in other European countries,  harmonization of VET in Greece with European standards, namely the development and referencing of HQF to EQF, is a major element of the Greek political strategy. In this constantly changing scene the Hellenic Qualification Framework aspires to signal a key element for the adoption for present and future labor forms to the new conditions and career changes.

Alongside,  across Europe there is an unprecedented wave of migration/refugee flows, against which Europe looks for solutions.  The dimensions of this issue is not just humanitarian, but it is also associated to pressure on social and other infrastructures, especially for countries such as Greece and Italy, being the main “entrance” countries.  In the short term it is expected that it might raise issues in education and labor market systems (i.e. recognition of educational qualifications, access to education and employment).

Importance of HQF

During this difficult economic and social situation, Greece is committed and makes profound reforms which are crucial for the country within the European context. The education and vocational training issues are a central component of these reforms.  At present, throughout the vocational education system, a profound structural change is occurring which aims to create well-qualified people with diplomas (qualifications) that can become even more linked to the needs of the labor market.

The development and continuous updating of the National Qualifications Framework according to social and economic developments, and, thus, the final referencing to the European Qualifications Framework is crucial, being a strong priority of the Greek government. Within this context, it is of great importance that it should:

Improve transparency of procedures regarding qualifications – qualification titles.
Enhance horizontal mobility (within and outside the country of origin title), as well as   vertical mobility (shows pathways that a person can follow in order to move from one level to another).
Enhance Life Long Learning.

QUALITY ASSURANCE ISSUES

Quality Assurance in Education is one of the main priorities of Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs having already invested a lot of effort in this area. This effort turns to be extremely arduous, multifaceted and constant. In this context and taking into consideration quality assurance issues, it is significant to clarify the following:

Institutionalization of National Quality framework for VET/ Apprenticeship

Quality Assurance  for VET

The procedure of updating and legally establishing a National Quality Assurance Framework for Life Long Learning “π3”, denoting “quality, always and everywhere”, has been reactivated. The above mentioned framework based on and following the guidelines of European Quality Assurance Reference Framework, is as a new methodological tool, intending to support VET providers in further improving their provided educational services.

In essence, the National Framework for Quality Assurance in LLL “π3” is the main means by which the Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs will coordinate the role of all VET organisations, towards the improvement of quality and the alignment with the national policy as well as the European strategy “Europe 2020”. In particular the framework:

Sets the principles for quality improvement   focusing on the 3 main determinants of the learning process (inputs, procedures, outcomes).
Provides a series of quantitative and qualitative indicators for assessing/evaluating the provision of services by all relevant stakeholders.

A steering committee has already been established with main responsibility the monitoring of the implementation of the above mentioned procedure. The Greek Ministry is committed to produce a Ministerial Decree by the end of this year.

The implementation of π3 will apply to all organisations involved in the non-formal education system, which are under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs.

Therefore, the National Framework for Quality Assurance in LLL “π3” comes to set quality objectives in a field that was until recently purely controlled.  It is the outcome of the consultation process and consensus achieved during the developing period by all interest parties.

Additionally the Ministry’s effort to improve quality assurance in all educational sectors has also been extended to formal vocational education. At the moment in cooperation with the “Institutions” (ECB, IMF, EC), a major restructuring of the secondary vocational education, taking into consideration the main principles of “π3”, has been agreed. It is important to mention here that part of the restructuring aims at the transformation / redesigning of vocational education curricula, following the Learning Outcomes approach.

Finally the Ministry is introducing a more holistic approach to the quality assurance issue, is creating a new mechanism for better matching Skills and Competences to Labour Market needs.

State of Play regarding quality issues in Greek Educational system

The above mentioned restructuring also applies to quality assurance issues for all levels of the HQF.

ADIPDE

As it has been presented in the Referencing Report of HQF a new authority has been established ADIPPDE (Authority for quality assurance in Primary and Secondary Education), responsible for quality assurance both in general and vocational education and is fully operational (levels 1, 2, and 4). It is working closely with the Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs. In its report – which is available in Greek – entitled “Quality in Primary and Secondary Education and the Validity of Degrees” it is mentioned that “the Greek education system has developed a robust legal framework for the operation of public and private schools, which deals, among other factors, with the administrative framework, educational framework and the support and feedback structures”.

ADIP

Also as it has been presented in the same Report ADIP is the authority responsible for the monitoring and evaluating quality assurance issues in tertiary education (Level 6, 7, 8)

Issues raised

Furthermore is important to mention that issues that have been raised in the past (i.e. fraud qualifications) have been confronted. Thus, Greek authorities would like to stress the following:

Incident of fraud qualifications took place only in two specific vocational schools. Both of them have ceased their operation since 2008, following actions taken by the Ministry of Education and its relevant departments.
The number of the qualifications issued by those schools is a very small percentage of total degrees awarded within the Greek educational system.
A decision of the High Court against 39 involved teachers both in private and in public education is pending, following an appeal of the Inspector of Public Administration.
The Ministry of Education is conducting a thorough examination to assure that there will be no more such cases and is looking into solutions to examine the validation of the qualifications that have been issued by these specific schools from 1999 to 2008 following the appeal of the Inspector of Public Administration. All the proposed solutions will be discussed with the relevant stakeholders.
The political leadership of the Ministry  of Education wants to state that as in any other country :
Achieving transparency in terms of competence and qualifications of the teaching staff is of crucial importance.
Whether referring to private or public schools, formal or non-formal educational system, the need for teachers to be examined on their ability to perform, is well recognized in Greece and excessive effort is spent in order to be accomplished.

Finally, the Ministry of Education has stated its firm political commitment to regain full control of operation of private schools. As far as the private primary, secondary and upper secondary schools (Levels 1,2 and 4) are concerned the Ministry intends to reestablish new procedures for examination of educational process and specially for the validation of the provided qualifications. This will also apply to certificates and degrees that were awarded in the past years (from 2002 till today).

OECD report

It is important to inform you that Greek Authorities, jointly with OECD and EC will review the OECD’s evaluation report of the Greek educational system by April 2016 (Act/ 4336/2015). The conclusions will be of a great assistance for the reforms already planned by the Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs. The impact of HQF in the educational system of Greece will be a major part of this evaluation.

FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE HQF

Having already developed Qualification Types, which are a key element in the Hellenic Qualification Framework, the country is now on a process of placing in each one of them, the individual (named) qualifications expressed learning outcomes. For example in level 7 of the HQF, we have the Qualification Type “Master Degree”.

Greek Qualification Register

EOPPEP, under the aegis of the Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs, is responsible for the development of a database, which includes all qualifications of formal education plus the qualification of IEK (level 5) that are classified in HQF. This database is called Greek Qualifications Register and takes into account all information based on the fields and descriptions of the EQF data base in order to be linked to it, as well as to the European portal “Learning Opportunities and Qualifications in Europe”.

In order to accomplish the above, a file with all necessary fields has been sent to be filled by every Awarding Body within the formal education system. To assist them EOPPEP has sent all the appropriate supportive material. In addition, every institution has been requested to appoint someone in charge of this procedure. In collaboration with EOPPEP every institution will be able to update all the necessary data regarding their qualifications.

At present, EOPPEP has already included a total of 610 individualized qualifications expressed in Learning Outcomes (see Table 1.).

All the above information is available at EOPPEP’s portal:  http://proson.eoppep.gr. The whole process was developed after the consultation with all relevant stakeholders being in this case AEI, TEI etc.

Learning Outcomes Approach

Development of LO

EOPPEP has developed a methodology, using the definitions given by EQF, for the development and designing and of Learning Outcomes based on Knowledge, skills and competence. Specific expertise regarding this thematic table was obtained by Prof. Dr. Mile Dželalija, whose contribution was valuable for the development of the HQF. Regarding further development of the Learning Outcome (LO) approach, Greece takes into account the latest CEDEFOP work as discussed during relevant forums (i.e. CEDEFOP -September 2015), as well as relevant within EU funded projects.

Occupational profiles

It is worth mentioning that following European education policies, Greece since 2006   has  developed  (Ministerial decree 110998/8-5-2006)  a methodology for  analyzing  occupational profiles incorporating the learning outcomes approach (those days called ‘occupational standards’). This was an early effort to create a methodology for modularizing VET curricula and it was part of a broader strategy aiming at upgrading VET in Greece. T he methodology was based on job analysis and in particular functional analysis. Greece has chosen the shift from task (used in the past) to function, as it has been argued that, function provides a broader perception for the content of the outcome. As a result Greece has today 202 developed job profiles based on learning outcomes.

Role of Stakeholders in the process

Part of the process was also the establishment of committees consisting of employers and employees representatives’ organizations, educationalists and experts from the field of the relevant occupation. The members of the committee jointly signed the National General Collective Labor Agreement in which the proposed occupational profile fits.

LO’s are linked not only to EQF but they are also consistent with, and can be incorporated in relevant work regarding EUROPASS, and forthcoming tasks of ECVET and ESCO.

Updating LO’s

Updating and renewal of LO’s in occupational profiles is a necessity based upon labor market research, surveys, evaluation of existing curricula, etc. This is a major task regarding the involvement of all relevant stakeholders, most importantly of social partners.

As mentioned above, Greece is implementing a huge restructuring of the whole VET system, while a serious effort to improve all quality assurance systems is a major challenge, as there are a lot of pending issues.

Skill   diagnosis mechanism

Thus, as the gap between VET and labor market needs remains, Greece is in the procedure of establishing a new and more effective mechanism for skills forecasting.  This structure will be based on a more effective way of identifying labor market needs in skills which will have an impact in the development of VET curricula. According to this institutional framework social partners (employers and employees associations) will play an important advisory role in this new system.

SOCIAL PARTNERS AND RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS

Involvement of social partners

Trustworthy cooperation and constructive dialogue with social partners associations of employers and employees (i.e. GSEE, ADEDY, SEV, GSEBEE, SETE, ESEE), as well as all other relevant stakeholders (i.e. Higher Education AEI/TEI), is very important for the Greek government.

As the Ministry has initiated a very important and persistent process to upgrade the educational system in Greece the social dialogue is regarded as a prerequisite for implementing all significant reforms. As mentioned above, the presence of social partners in advisory committees is taken for granted and enforced. Social partners are acknowledged as stakeholders that can most effectively build the link with labor market needs.

Reflections deriving from social partners and other relevant stakeholders have been given serious consideration, being regarded as critical, and finally, are included in the reforms that either have already taken place or for those that are being planned.

External evaluation

In the framework of a project entitled “External evaluation of the Action Development of the Hellenic Qualifications Framework”, three focus groups were scheduled and have already been completed (November 2015):

Focus Group A – Representatives of Higher Education and the Hellenic Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency (ADIP).
Focus Group B - Representatives from Secondary Education and VET
Focus Group C - Representatives from social partners (employers and employees).

The subject areas that were examined are:

Contribution, effectiveness and added value of the Action “Development of the Hellenic Qualifications Framework” as a project of national significance
Factors in the successful implementation of the HQF, obstacles and improvement proposals. The results will be given to EOPPEP the following days and are very valuable for further development and implementation of HQF.

Reenactment of  HQF Advisory Committee

Finally, at this point it should be noted that Greece is planning to reenact the HQF Advisory Committee, which will be consulted for further HQF development. Therefore, the reinforced Advisory Committee includes the steady involvement of all relevant stakeholders, including social partners, higher education representatives and experts, for exchanging views regarding planning, development of NQF, as well as referencing to EQF.

ROAD MAP: MAIN FEATURES

Table 2 reflects the road map of main features for the period ahead.