Fierce backlash has erupted among teachers and opposition parties following threats from Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis to dismiss teachers who refuse to comply with mandatory performance evaluations. Teachers stress they are not "opposed" to evaluation per se, but reject a system they see as designed to categorise schools and staff, foster submission, and offer no meaningful improvement to educational quality. They accuse the government not only of failing to end arbitrary disciplinary actions and sackings, but of actively legitimising them. “All those who keep schools going under the most adverse conditions, often in spite of the state and government policy, deserve a place in public education,” teachers said in a statement. “What doesn’t belong in public schools is the education policy of the New Democracy government.” Opposition parties have joined the chorus of criticism, accusing the PM of attempting to commodify education, restricting it to a privileged few, and codifying his government’s punitive agenda.

“No place in education for those who refuse evaluation”

Speaking after a visit to the Ministry of Education, Mitsotakis stated unequivocally:

“If someone fundamentally refuses to be evaluated, they should have no place in the education system,” Mitsotakis declared.

He went on to suggest that teachers opposing evaluation might face dismissal.

“We discussed the progress of the teacher evaluation process, and I believe we need to be honest here – it’s a new procedure, and it hasn’t yet delivered the expected results,” he added.

Mitsotakis was particularly clear when addressing those educators who reject the very idea of evaluation.

“Our position is crystal clear, and the direction I’ve given to the ministry is equally clear: if someone fundamentally refuses to be evaluated, they should not have a position in the public education system,” he said.

Legitimising retaliatory dismissals

The Prime Minister’s remarks have drawn strong condemnation, particularly as they come amid widespread demands from educators for an end to unchecked disciplinary probes. Rather than addressing these calls, Mitsotakis doubled down on a crackdown-oriented approach that legitimises punitive dismissals.

One case that has garnered attention is that of nine teachers at Agios Kirykos secondary school on the island of Ikaria. They face disciplinary action for allegedly refusing to cooperate with the headteacher, with accusations that their behaviour contributed to the school’s dysfunction and damaged its reputation in the local community.

According to a statement by the Ikaria–Fournoi Teachers’ Union, “In recent months, disciplinary proceedings against teachers have become an almost daily occurrence. But who is really to blame for the failings of the education system? The collapsing ceilings? The crumbling infrastructure? The chronic understaffing? Of course not – it’s the teachers!”

The union accuses the ministry of punishing staff for speaking to pupils about peace, highlighting the deficiencies in schools that prevent pupils with additional needs from participating fully in lessons, and for resisting the evaluation law, which they say aims to categorise and privatise public education.

Further, the Northern Aegean Regional Directorate has referred ten more teachers – and the same headteacher – to a disciplinary board. These teachers had long complained of the head’s authoritarian conduct and reported her behaviour both during a prior inquiry and directly to the relevant authorities. In 2024, the same group had formally accused her of multiple pedagogical and administrative violations, including instances of “psychological and even physical violence” – allegations that were supported by the school’s parents’ association.

More teachers face proceedings in Alexandroupoli

The secondary school teachers’ union OLME has reported that another nine teachers in Alexandroupoli are facing potential disciplinary sanctions, including the possibility of being placed on unpaid leave.

In response, OLME has called a three-hour walkout on 30 April 2025, the date their case is due to be heard, and announced that its executive board will join the demonstration in support of the accused educators.

A month prior, three newly appointed teachers from the 2021 cohort – one of whom is the general secretary of the local union – were summoned for a second time by the Directorate of Secondary Education, having already received an earlier “warning” regarding their participation in a strike action against evaluations. According to the union, the new summons is a precursor to formal disciplinary proceedings for “refusal to be evaluated” – a charge they argue is “blatantly unlawful,” as the teachers were participating in a legally sanctioned strike organised by their federation and ADEDY, the civil service union.

1,500 disciplinary cases for union-related actions

As reported by Iliana Zervou in The Press Project, more than 1,500 disciplinary cases have been brought against teachers involved in the evaluation boycott. Among the most notable are the cases of Chrysa Chotzoglou and Dimitris Chatzakis, who now face criminal proceedings following a complaint by the Director of Secondary Education in Piraeus.

Teachers say it is “a punitive, authoritarian mechanism”

The first official reaction to the PM’s comments came from the militant teacher group Fighting Rally of Educators, which stated: “Those who keep schools going under the most difficult conditions, despite state and government opposition, have a rightful place in public education.”

Mitsotakis’ remark has sparked outrage among teachers, who see it as a “blatant attack” and evidence of the government’s true intent: “to impose an authoritarian, punitive mechanism that serves neither schools nor society.”

Teachers maintain that it is not they who have no place in education, but rather “a government policy that promotes division, commodification, and the persecution of teachers.” They defend their decision to boycott the evaluation process, arguing: “The government claims evaluation is a tool for improvement. In reality, it’s being used to rank schools, foster competition, and further erode the public education system. Our collective struggle has derailed these unethical plans that threaten both students’ right to education and our professional rights.”

They add that they are not “opposed” to evaluation itself, but to a model that imposes top-down control, categorises educators, and contributes nothing to the actual improvement of teaching and learning.

“The PM failed to address the real and worsening issues plaguing public education – ongoing staff shortages, collapsing infrastructure, rising incidents of violence and bullying, overcrowded classrooms, an exhausting exam schedule, the Special Admission Threshold, and more,” the statement continues. “This attack, personal and political, reveals how cornered the government has become by the widespread resistance among educators. At the same time, it strengthens our resolve. We urge all teachers to support the collective decisions of our unions and block the government’s plan to turn schools into businesses, students into consumers, and parents into paying customers.”

They conclude with a message of defiance: “We remain united. We resist the pressure and threats, and we stand firm in defence of public education and every child’s right to a quality education.”

OLME: “Those who support public education deserve to be in it”

In its own statement, the teachers’ union reiterated that what doesn’t belong in schools is “the New Democracy government’s policy,” and condemned what it called “a provocative and disgraceful attack on educators.”

“Those who support public education every day with self-sacrifice, despite the many difficulties and shortcomings, are the ones who deserve to be there and they are the teachers,” OLME said. “They are the most highly qualified professionals in the country, hired through a meritocratic system – not on the basis of political loyalty, as the government would prefer. Teachers have the right to demand what they need and to defend public education using every democratic means available, including their constitutional right to strike.”

Opposition reactions

SYRIZA: “He should be ashamed of the state of education, not make victory statements”

SYRIZA, Greece’s left-wing opposition party, strongly criticised Mitsotakis’ remarks.

“He should be ashamed, not making victory statements. Mr Mitsotakis continues with his meaningless visits to ministries, making announcements that demonstrate he has no coherent plan to support key pillars of the state such as education and healthcare, apart from serving private interests,” the party stated.

They pointed out several areas where the government has failed, including the lack of support for public schools, the issue of school infrastructure, the unresolved staffing shortages in schools, and the barriers imposed by the Special Admission Threshold for university entrance, which leaves thousands of students without access to higher education and results in vacant places at public universities. SYRIZA also criticised the failure of the government’s evaluation system, the patronage in the public school system, and the disciplinary harassment of over 2,000 teachers.

“They didn’t say a word about these issues because these are their political choices,” SYRIZA concluded.

KKE: “The PM deserves full marks in the subject of mythology”

The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) also reacted harshly to the Prime Minister’s statements. “The PM could indeed be evaluated with top marks in the subject of Mythology, as he claimed to see a ‘better’ image in schools thanks to the introduction of ‘robotics kits’ and ‘interactive whiteboards’… Meanwhile, thousands of substitute teachers are forced to renew their contracts year after year to fill gaps even in the middle of the school year,” the KKE’s Press Office stated.

They also noted that the vast majority of schools continue to face serious infrastructure problems, with only 5% of them set to be included in building renovation programmes. The party further criticised the government for promoting a “two-speed” education system, where access to education is framed as an “opportunity,” pointing to the introduction of “Onassis schools” and the controversial proposal to have students choose their career paths at just 15 years old.

“The government of New Democracy is clearly threatened by the efforts of educators, parents, and students who are fighting for a qualitatively upgraded, free, and public education system. This is the fundamental stance that teachers, parents, and students defend. And that’s why they reject the anti-educational criteria of the ‘evaluation’ process, which measures educational work by the reactionary standards of seeking sponsors,” the KKE concluded.

Finally, the KKE pointed out that the government’s narratives in education, both in schools and universities, have been continuously disproven.

PASOK: “A government of fiasco and the college-isation of higher education”

PASOK referred to “Potemkin villages in education” and stated pointedly about Kyriakos Mitsotakis that “as if addressing the people of the Land of the Lotus-Eaters, he presented a magical image of the state of education, which has no relation to the reality of degradation and decline we’ve experienced in this sector during the years of New Democracy’s governance.”

Furthermore, through its education policy spokesperson, Stefanos Parastatidis, PASOK stressed that “the government of the fiasco of higher education’s college-isation, of the fanfare around passing laws that are never implemented (vocational education – campuses), of declining student performance in the PISA assessment, of cultivating fertile ground for speculative funds to invade private education, of underfunding, etc., is now being showcased by the PM’s declarations as a government of ‘progress made in recent years.’”

The party emphasized that most of what the PM stated “is not true,” providing specific counter-evidence.

New Left: “His real plan is a disciplined, submissive, and class-segregated school”

“This is not an evaluation system aiming to improve education, but a mechanism of control, intimidation, and punishment.
The government that dismantled public education, that reinforced social inequalities, that designed schools for the few while leaving the vast majority of children behind, has no moral right to speak of equal opportunities. Their hypocrisy is outrageous.
We stand with the teachers who defend public schools, pedagogical freedom, and the dignity of their profession.”
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