Athens: Thousands of students from across Greece were expected to protest in the capital Athens on Friday against a disputed private universities law set to be approved by parliament.
The law promoted by the conservative government will enable branches of private non-profit universities to begin taking applications in September 2025.
Students have been protesting for nine weeks against the reform, which the government says will enable Greek public universities to enter into partnerships with prestigious foreign academic institutions, improving their international appeal.
Some 15,000 students staged a protest in Athens last month.
The government has pledged to introduce strict rules for the way private institutions function.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told parliament on Friday the reform would enable Greek students "to study at international universities without leaving home."
He called it "a step that opens new horizons to the new generation" and add "Greece to the global education map"."
Ahead of the vote on Friday evening, which the ruling majority is expected to carry, opposition parties accused the government of chronically underfunding public universities.
Many university professors also oppose private institutions, which the students argue will offer lower entry requirements in return for hefty fees.
The parliament speaker for the main opposition Syriza party, Sokratis Famellos, said Greece spent just 7.1 percent of its budget on education when the European Union average is 9.6 percent.
"You are doing this so that a few of your friends, some funds and colleges, can make a profit," Famellos told the chamber on Friday.
Public Greek universities are plagued by run-down infrastructure, political party meddling in student affairs, and random violence and vandalism.
Successive efforts by previous conservative governments to reform higher education have floundered in the face of student protests, many of them marred by violence.
