It’s all Greek to me: why Greek ‘higher schools’ don’t offer higher education
There’s no doubt about it: identifying Greek qualifications when you don’t speak the language can be tricky.
Trying to pick out the relevant words on a certificate can sometimes feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. To make matters worse, virtually all Greek qualifications seem to be entitled either Ptychío (ΠΤΥΧΙΟ) or Diploma (ΔΙΠΛΩΜΑ).
One qualification that frequently – and understandably – causes confusion is diplomas issued by tertiary institutions known as ‘higher schools’ (Greek: ΑΝΏΤΕΡΗ ΣΧΟΛΉ).
The term ΑΝΩΤΕΡA literally translates as ‘higher’ but this is something of a red herring. Higher schools offer post-secondary education, as distinct from what we would typically categorise as ‘higher education’ in English (ΑΝΩΤΑΤΑ in Greek).
And these are very much two separate pathways. Higher schools do not deliver university education and do not confer Bachelor degrees.
Higher-school programmes are typically two or three years in duration. Institutions specialise in a particular subject area, overseen by a relevant ministry. Providers that offer this type of education include, for example, higher schools for:
- Dance and theatre, supervised by the Ministry of Culture
- Petty officers, supervised by the Ministry of National Defence
- Policemen, supervised by the Ministry of Citizen Protection
- Tourism education, supervised by the Ministry of Tourism
Higher-school diplomas are aligned to level 5 of the Hellenic Qualifications Framework (HQF) and European Qualifications Framework (EQF). That corresponds to level 5 in the UK as well i.e. one level below a Bachelor degree. As such, UK ENIC considers these awards comparable to a UK Foundation degree/HND.
As is often the case, the key to identifying the award is not the qualification title, but the institution. It probably won’t be the most prominent word on the certificate but look for reference to ΑΝΏΤΕΡΗ/ΑΝΩΤΕΡA. It’ll often be found towards the top of the page, close to or part of the institution name.
Higher school diploma checklist:
- Reference to ΑΝΏΤΕΡΗ/ΑΝΩΤΕΡA on the certificate
- 2-3 years in duration
- Likely offered in dance, drama, tourism, navy/defence, or police training
- Preceding award should be an upper secondary school leaving certificate