The Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has ordered the Ministry of Education to audit the research funds of all universities and technical institutes of the past five financial years.
The research funds are regularly at the forefront of accusations against the management of universities, especially in provincial universities, as they are excluded from the state budget and related to community funds allocated to the institutions.
This development is expected to cause some upheaval in the higher education sector, opening a new front between the universities and the State, who are already at arms over the suspension and dismissal of university administrative employees.
Despite the fact that the vast majority of administrative employees facing suspension have registered on the Ministry of Education’s website, the strike at the University of Athens is scheduled to continue next week. A general assembly at the National Technical University of Athens also intends to vote on extending their strike.
The Ministry of Education has called the universities affected by the suspensions to dock the wages of all administrative employees on strike, in response to allegations that they were being paid as normal during their strike.
Finally, senior officers from the Ministry of Education revealed that fewer administrative staff members will be suspended than initially announced, with most estimates suggesting they will be about 1,200.
