Comparative

Education of
PORTUGA
L&
GREECE
Prepared by:
ANDY G. TULIAO
 EDUCATION in
Ranking: 24th
PORTUGAL
Vision, Mission,
according to the 2022 Best
Countries for Education Report
conducted by US News and World
Report, BAV Group, and the Wharton The main goal of the Portuguese
School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Goal
education is to ensure an educational
basis for everyone- seen as the beginning
One of the best countries in Europe for
international studies in Bachelor, Master and of an educating and personal process of
PhD degrees in fields such as Biotechnology, formation throughout life.
Medicine, Social Sciences and Arts
 EDUCATION in
Ranking 27 th GREECE
Vision,
according to the 2022 Best
Countries for Education Report The main purpose of Greek Education
conducted by US News and World
Report, BAV Group, and the Wharton Mission, Goal
is the moral, intellectual, professional
and physical training of Greeks, the
School of the University of Pennsylvania development of a national and
religious consciousness and their
One of the pioneer countries where education had been formation as free and responsible
implemented systematically. Most of the best-known
citizens.
ancient philosophers are from Greece.

Greece continues to provide its citizens and residents

with high-quality education. Including both public and
private schools, Greece has so many top-notch schools.
EDUCATION
AL
SYSTEM
 EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
The Portuguese Education System is composed of three major education levels:
Preschool Education OBJECTIVE:
* (UNESCO’s ISCED Level 0) is optional for children Promotion of children’s personal and social
* starts at age 3 up to their entry into compulsory schooling. development and well-being; expression,
communication, curiosity, and critical thinking abilities;
and to involve families in their children’s education.

Compulsory Education GOAL:

*starts at age 6 and is mandatory for the next 12 years. To ensure a common general education for all children
*It is divided into basic education (nine years) and by providing the fundamental knowledge and skills
secondary education (three years). required for pursuing (upper) secondary education.
3 cycles of study:
first cycle (Grades 1 to 4)
Second cycle (Grades 5 to 6)
Third cycle (Grades 7 to 9).

Higher Education Students can obtain a bachelor’s degree (ISCED 6), a master’s
*is provided at universities and polytechnic institutes according degree (ISCED 7), or doctoral degree (ISCED 8) in the different
to the Bologna Principle signed by all EU countries. areas of science and technology, arts and humanities, and the
social sciences.
EDUCATIONAL
SYSTEM
 EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
The stages of the formal Greek education are mainly 6:
1. Primary Education
2. Secondary Education
3. Second Chance Schools (SDE)
4. Post Lower Secondary Vocational Education and Training, Level 3
5. Post-Secondary Vocational Training, Level 5
6. Higher Education
 EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
1)PRIMARY EDUCATION

Nipiagogeio (Pre-School)

*It is compulsory for all 4-year-old children.

*Run by municipal authorities.
*Caters children between the ages of 2 months and up to the age of the beginning of compulsory
education.
Dimotiko scholeio (Primary School)
*Spans 6 years.
*Children in the age range of 6-12 years.
 EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
2. SECONDARY EDUCATION (Compulsory Education)
- divided into 2 cycles
Gymnasio – First Cycle
(lower secondary school).
It lasts 3 years.
It provides general education
It covers ages 12-15.
Prerequisite for enrolling at general or
vocational upper secondary schools
Lykeio – Second Cycle
Optional geniko or epangelmatiko lykeio (general or
vocational upper secondary school).
It lasts 3 years.
Pupils enrol at the age of 15
There are two different types:
Geniko (general)lykeio.
It lasts 3 years and includes both common core
subjects and optional subjects of specialisation
Epangelmatiko (vocational) lykeio.
Two cycles of studies:
(a) The secondary cycle
(b) The optional post-secondary cycle, the so-called
“apprenticeship class”.
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
3) SECOND CHANCE SCHOOLS (SDE)
SDE are public and target persons aged 18 years or older,
who have not completed the nine-year compulsory education and
hold the primary school leaving certificate.
Attendance lasts 2 years.

4) POST LOWER SECONDARY VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING, LEVEL 3

It is provided in:
Vocational training schools (ESK)
Vocational apprenticeship schools (EPAS) of the Manpower Employment Organisation (OAED)

Attendance lasts 2 years and includes grades A and B.

Holders of the lower secondary school graduation certificate, or equivalent, can enroll in grade A,
without exams. ESK can be public or private, day or evening. EPAS are public.
 EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
5) POST-SECONDARY VOCATIONAL TRAINING, LEVEL 5
It is provided in:
Vocational training institutes (IEK)
Post-secondary cycle of studies - apprenticeship class

*EIK or Vocational training institutes

*Provide initial vocational training to graduates from upper secondary schools,
i.e. general upper secondary schools (GEL), vocational upper secondary schools (EPAL), as well as holders of equivalent certificates/degrees.

*Vocational training lasts 4-5 semesters

For EPAL graduates and holders of equivalent vocational certificates or degrees- last 2-3 semesters.
*ΙΕΚ may be public or private.

*Post-secondary cycle of studies - apprenticeship class

*Provides initial vocational training to graduates from upper secondary vocational schools, or
holders of equivalent certificates or degrees, who have a basic level of knowledge, skills
and competences. The post-secondary – apprenticeship programme lasts 11 months.
 EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
6) HIGHER EDUCATION

Higher education is the last level of the formal education system.

Most undergraduate degree programmes take 4 academic years of full-time study.
Postgraduate courses last from one to two years, while doctorates at least 3 years.

HE comprises:
The University Sector (panepistimio): The Technological Sector:
Universities (AEI) The Technological Educational Institutes
Technical Universities The School of Pedagogical and Technological The
Athens School of Fine Arts (ASKT). Education (ASPETE).

It is noted that educational institutes have merged with higher education institutes (AEI).
Benefits of
SALARY
The salary regulations for teachers in pre-school, basic and upper secondary
education are established by the joint order from the Prime-Minister and the

Teachers
Minister of Finance after negotiations with the teachers’ union
representatives.
 • School or school cluster heads, deputy heads

Benefits of and assistants

-receive a salary supplement, per
position, determined according to the

Teachers
number of daytime students in the school
cluster/non-clustered school.

• Allowances
- are paid twelve times per year,
(i.e., school heads do not receive the holiday
and Christmas supplement)

Private schools regulate their teachers' salaries

according to a separate pay scale. The scale for
public education is used as a guide but is not binding.
 Working time

Benefits of
Teachers are obliged to work 35 hours a week over five working days.

The weekly timetable includes a classroom teaching component and a non-teaching

component (which lasts an average of 13 hours per week), obligatorily recorded in the

Teachers
timetable, with the exception of the non-teaching component intended for individual
work.

Teachers in pre-school and 1st cycle basic education teach 25 hours a week.
Teachers in the 2nd and 3rd cycles of basic education and upper secondary education
have a weekly teaching load of 22 hours a week.
In the 2nd and 3rd cycles of basic education, upper secondary education and special
education, the teaching load is reduced to a limit of no fewer than eight hours a week
under the following terms:

• Two hours reduction when teachers reach 50 years of age and have been teaching for 15
years.
• A further two hours reduction when teachers reach 55 years of age and have been teaching
for 20 years.
• A further four hours reduction when teachers reach 60 years of age and have been teaching
for 25 years.
 HOLIDAYS

Benefits of
Every year, teachers are entitled to a holiday period as
established in the rules for public employees.

Teachers Teachers have holidays between the end of the school year and
the beginning of the next school year.

The annual holiday entitlement is 22 working days.

A day is added to annual holiday entitlement for every ten

years the teacher has been teaching.

There are no lessons during the Christmas, Carnival and Easter

periods.
 SALARY

Benefits of
A teacher being in service from 0 to 2 years ( Pay Scale 1 - MK 1) gets 1,092
euros (gross earnings), while a teacher serving for 36-38 years (Pay Scale 19 -
MK 19), gets 2,154 (gross earnings).

Teachers It is required that the teacher (public servant) has completed at least two (2)
years of service in the lowest pay scale, in order to progress from the lowest to
the highest pay scale. Holders of a postgraduate degree advance in two pay
scales while the doctorate gives a precedence of six pay scale.

The allowance for teachers serving at remote border areas and problem areas
remains (which is set at 1,200 euros per year) as does the family allowance for
minors and for children under the age of 24 years, who are studying in tertiary
education. Teachers who occupy positions of responsibility receive a special
allowance for the position
 WORKING TIME AND HOLIDAYS

Benefits of
All teachers of Primary and Secondary Education school units are obliged to remain at school during the
working days beyond their teaching hours in order to offer other kinds of services that have to do with:

• the general educational work, or,

Teachers
• tasks assigned to them by the school administrative bodies (i.e the head of the school)

The teachers’ work, apart from teaching, usually involves matters contributing to the school’s smooth operation
such as:

• the preparation of supervisory training material and laboratory exercises,

• the correction of works and competitions,
• the registration-updating of the students' assessment,
• participation in the preparation and holding of festivities,
• sporting and cultural events,
• the planning and evaluation of education work,
• the supervision of school meals,
• informing parents and guardians,
• the keeping of school books and the execution of administrative tasks, etc.

In any case, compulsory working time cannot exceed 6 hours per day and 30
hours per week for teachers without or with administrative tasks such as Heads, Deputy Heads of school
units and school laboratories Directors, Pre-primary school teachers included (law 4115/2013). Law 3979/2011
applies to permanent staff under a private-law employment relationship of indefinite duration that are employed
at 1st and 2nd degree OTA childcare centers and nurseries, which states that the weekly hours of work have
been forty (40
 WORKING TIME AND HOLIDAYS

Benefits of
Primary and Secondary Education teachers are entitled to holidays
amounting to two weeks during Christmas time and two weeks during
Easter time.

Teachers After the end of the school year, more specifically as of June 22nd for
Primary education and June 30th for Secondary Education and until
August 31st, Primary and Secondary Education teachers do not go to
schools given that they remain closed because of summer holidays
with the exception of just one day per week (for handling
administrative issues).

Primary and Secondary Education teaching staff is not granted regular

leaves of absence, with the exception of emergency reasons in which
case they do not exceed ten working days per year
Alternative and Special
Education Program
Alternative ADULT EDUCATION AND TRAINING
• There are various modes of adult education and training with specific aims and
target groups, encompassing a system of recognition, validation and certification

and Special of skills acquired throughout life. Provision in this area is mainly included in the
National Qualifications System/Catalogue and organised by a national network of
"Qualifica" Centres, which cover the whole country, providing a guidance system

Education
for adults, while coordinating a vast network of training bodies. As such, they are
focussed on obtaining both academic and vocational certification at the same
time, although in some cases they may award only one of these.

Program POST-SECONDARY NON-HIGHER EDUCATION (ISCE

4)
• Post-secondary non-tertiary education provision can lead to an NQF level 5
qualification and involves high-level technical training, geared towards
integration in the job market, as well as the continuation of higher education
studies. It usually lasts a year and is designed for young people over 18, who have
concluded the 12 years of compulsory school.
This level can be obtained the following ways:
a) specialised technological courses (STC)
b) apprenticeship + courses
c) certified modular training
d) recognition, validation and certification of competences.
 SECOND CHANCE SCHOOLS (SDE)
Alternative • SDE are public and target persons aged 18 years or older, who have not
completed the nine-year compulsory education and hold the primary school

and Special leaving certificate. Attendance lasts 2 years.

POST LOWER SECONDARY VOCATIONAL EDUCATIO

Education AND TRAINING, LEVEL 3

It is provided in:

Program Vocational training schools (ESK)

Vocational apprenticeship schools (EPAS) of the Manpower Employment
Organisation (OAED)
Attendance lasts 2 years and includes grades A and B. Holders of the lowe
secondary school graduation certificate, or equivalent, can enroll in grade
without exams. ESK can be public or private, day or evening. EPAS are pu

POST-SECONDARY VOCATIONAL TRAINING, LEVEL 5

It is provided in:

Vocational training institutes (IEK)

Post-secondary cycle of studies - apprenticeship class
CLASSRO
OM
CLASSRO
OM
UNIFORM
UNIFORM
Interventions &
Innovations
Interventions &
Innovations
REFERENC
https://op.europa.eu/webpub/eac/education-and-training-monitor-2021/en/greece.html

https://www.poch.portugal2020.pt/en/Apoios/Pages/eixo-4-qualidade-e-inovacao.aspx

https://viveurope.com/public-schools-in-portugal/

ES:
https://teachnews.gr/ekpaideftika-nea/item/603-education-and-schools-in-greece

https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-education-systems/greece/overview

https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-education-systems/portugal/overview