Half of university students in Greece do not regularly attend classes or participate in examinations, significantly delaying the completion of their studies, according to a study released last week by the National Authority for Higher Education.
Data from 2024 reveals that only 50% of registered students actively engage in coursework and sit for exams, highlighting what analysts describe as a long-standing structural problem within the Greek higher education system.
The report warns that prolonged study periods create serious consequences for both students and the national economy, including delayed entry into the workforce and reduced productivity.
Researchers refer to the phenomenon as a “chronic pathology of the Greek university”, which reflects persistent inefficiencies that have yet to be resolved.
Indicative of the extent of the problem, in January, Greece completed the first phase of a long-planned cleanup of student registries at its public universities, removing from registries hundreds of thousands of long-inactive students whose studies had effectively stalled decades ago.
According to the study, Greece ranks last among OECD countries in employment rates for postgraduate degree holders. While job prospects have improved in recent years, Greek graduates continue to lag behind their international peers.
According to the findings, the employment rate stands at 77.6% for university graduates and 87.1% for those holding postgraduate degrees. Earning a postgraduate qualification raises employment prospects by 9.5%, while a PhD increases chances by 17.1% compared to a bachelor’s degree alone.
Early graduation and gaining work experience during studies are strongly linked to faster workforce integration and higher earnings, the report notes.
When it comes to research activity, Greek universities account for approximately 85% of the country’s academic publications. However, productivity per researcher has steadily declined, dropping from 0.66 publications in 2013 to 0.51 in 2023. International reach of Greek university research also remains limited, with the country ranking 23rd out of 52 countries in citations per publication.
