Greece cuts university enrollment by half by removing 300,000 inactive students

Greece has removed 308,605 inactive students from the records of state-run universities, cutting the country’s official university enrollment by nearly half, the Education Ministry said.

The Education Ministry said Friday that more than 300,000 inactive students were taken off university rolls, reflecting the end of a decadeslong practice that allowed extended enrollment and lengthy breaks for work.

The change follows legislation that formally abolished that approach, which had enabled students to remain on university rosters for long periods even when their studies had been interrupted. Ministry officials said the update applies to students admitted to state-run universities’ four-year degree programs before 2017.

Education Minister Sofia Zacharaki said the policy reflects a shift in how student status is treated. “Student status is not valid for life in any modern European university,” Zacharaki said, adding, “We want degrees with value, which reflect effort, skills and passion.”

Ministry officials said about 35,000 people successfully applied for reenrollment in 2025 as part of a second-chance option. Opponents of the conservative government’s reform, mostly from the academic community, argued that the second-chance program did not address the scale of disruption they say resulted from Greece’s severe financial crisis in the previous decade.

The government said Greece’s active student population now stands at just over 350,000, studying at 25 public higher education institutions, according to 2024 data from the Hellenic Authority for Higher Education. The Education Ministry said undergraduate degree programs at state universities are normally funded by the government.

The ministry also noted broader changes in the higher-education landscape. It said only public universities offering state-recognized degrees operated in Greece until recently, and that recognized private universities are being gradually introduced.

Education Ministry officials said dormant students—those who had interrupted their studies—did not impose a direct financial burden on universities. They said the presence of those students in rosters, however, created administrative difficulties.

Deputy Education Minister Nikos Papaioannou said the updated lists would allow institutions to improve their planning. “With updated student lists, universities gain the ability to plan more precisely,” Papaioannou said, adding that the change is “a prerequisite for improving academic quality, daily operations and the criteria used to evaluate Greek universities in international rankings.”