Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας (State Council of Greece) obliged the state to supply compulsory alternate education for students exempt from religion lessons starting from the schoolhouse year 2025–2026.
Court declared illegal inaction of the authorities, who did not instrumentality due measures, contempt erstwhile decisions.
Alternative to religion successful Greek schools
The tribunal recovered that simply releasing the point was not enough. The state is obliged to supply a full-fledged acquisition alternativeincluding content, structure and pedagogical support.
Despite decisions made backmost successful 2019the medication did not take the indispensable steps to instrumentality such a course. This inaction is recognized arsenic violating the students’ close to equal entree to education.
What does the tribunal require?
The tribunal sent the lawsuit backmost to the medication and acceptable wide deadlines for execution. The Ministry of Education should make regulatory framework and contented due decisions.
In particular, it is required:
- appointment of teachers of applicable specialties
- inclusion of an alternate subject successful the schoolhouse timetable
- use of integer tools, including distance learning
Particular attraction is paid to ensuring accessibility of training successful regions with constricted resources.
Court decision
In the solution 2417-2418/2025 it is emphasized that the state is obliged to guarantee “unhindered implementation of teaching an alternate subject» for each students who wish it.
The tribunal specifically pointed retired the need:
- inclusion of a subject successful the authoritative curriculum
- appointment of qualified teachers
- use of modern integer teaching tools
Editorial comment
Solution State Council of Greece in fact, it fixes a occupation that has existed for respective years: the ceremonial close to state from religion was not accompanied by a existent alternative.
Now the state has to determination from declarations to practice. This means not lone changing curricula, but besides reallocating resources, including quality resources and integer resources.
In essence, we are talking astir the transition from ceremonial state of prime to its existent provision — which does not hap so often successful the acquisition system and usually lone aft tribunal intervention.
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