Program of Degree Updating for Graduates of Teacher Training Academies

The Program of Degree Updating for graduates of two-year Teacher Training Academies is implemented by the Department of Primary Education, Democritus University of Thrace in accordance with the provisions of the Presidential Decree 407/80 and the relevant decisions of the Department’s General Assembly.

Graduates of Teacher Training Academies are admitted to the Department after a public lottery and are placed in categories requiring them to attend and pass 10 or 20 courses, depending on their years of teaching service in primary education. Graduates of Teacher Training Academies who successfully complete the equivalence process obtain a degree from the Department of Primary Education, Democritus University of Thrace.

 ProgramofDegreeUpdatingoftheSpecialPedagogicalAcademyofThessaloniki (S.P.A.Th) graduates

 The Program of Degree Updating of the Special Pedagogical Academy of Thessaloniki (S.P.A.Th) is implementedbythe Department of Primary Education, Democritus University of Thracein accordance withtheMinisterialDecisionNo. 187388/ H2/3164/E: “Requirementsandprocedurefor the recognitionofgraduatesof theSpecialPedagogicalAcademy of Thessaloniki(S.P.A.Th)tothegraduatesof theEducationDepartments” (Government Gazette 3163/25-11-2014, issue 2) and the relevant decisions of the Department Assembly.

The Program consists of three main components: (a) course attendance, (b) thesis writing, and (c) practicum for those without prior teaching experience. These three components, as well as the manner of their organization and implementation, in accordance with the above ministerial decision and the relevant decisions of the Assembly of the Department of Primary Education of the Democritus University of Thrace, are presented below. S.P.A.Th. graduates who successfully complete the equivalence process obtain a degree from the Department of Primary Education,Democritus University of Thrace. This degree enables them to be hired as teachers in the PE70-Teachers branch in primary schools under the conditions of Article 7A, paragraph 4 of Law 3848/2010 and Article 64, paragraph 1 of Law 4310/2014.

 Ranking of S.P.A.Th. graduates in the study semesters and requirements for obtaining the degree of the Department of Primary Education, Democritus University of Thrace

The criteria for classifying S.P.A.Th. graduates in terms of semesters of study and the requirements for obtaining a Department of Primary Education degree are set out in Article 5 of the aforementioned ministerial decision:

 “1. The classification of EPATH graduates into semesters of study is decided by the General Assembly of the Department of Primary Educationand depends on their educational experience at the time of submitting their application, the year of their admission to S.P.A.Th., and any additional qualifications they may have, as follows:

 Category A: Classification in the fifth semester. To obtain the Department of Primary Education degree, students must successfully pass 22 courses, complete a thesis, and complete a practicum for those who do not have prior teaching experience. The following are eligible for classification in the 5th semester of studies: a) graduates fromS.P.A.Th. who are permanent teaching staff at minority schools and have up to five (5) years of teaching experience, and b) S.P.A.Th. graduates who are not permanent teaching staff at minority schools and were admitted to S.P.A.Th. up to and including the 2001-2002 academic year.

 Category B: Classification in the 6th semester. To obtain the Department of Primary Education degree, students must successfully pass 16 courses, complete a thesis, and complete a practicum for those who do not have prior teaching experience. The following are eligible for classification in the 6th semester of studies: a) graduates of S.P.A.Th. who are permanent teaching staff at minority schools and have five (5) to fifteen (15) years of teaching experience, b) S.P.A.Th. graduates who are not members of the permanent teaching staff of minority schools and have been admitted to S.P.A.Th. since the 2002-2003 academic year onwards, and c) S.P.A.Th. graduates who have worked as substitute teachers in minority schools for more than five (5) years. 

 Category C: Classification in the 7th semester. To obtain the Department of Primary Education degree, students must successfully pass 11 courses, complete a thesis, and complete a practicum for those who do not have prior teaching experience. The following are eligible for classification in the 7th semester of studies: a) graduates of S.P.A.Th. who are permanent teaching staff at minority schools and have more than fifteen (15) years of teaching experience, and b) S.P.A.Th. graduates who have been admitted to S.P.A.Th. since the 2002-2003 academic year and onwards and have a Higher Education degree or hold a Postgraduate Specialization Title.

Furthermore, in the same article, paragraph 2, it is specified that “The specific courses that each graduate of S.P.A.Th. is required to attend …, as well as the thesis that they must complete, are determined by the General Assembly of the Department of Primary Education and may differ from the number and corresponding courses provided for the specific semesters of study for other undergraduate students.”

Furthermore, in the same article, paragraph 4, it is stated that “participants in the degree updating process attend courses from the undergraduate program of the Department of Primary Education (or other Departments of the Democritus University of Thrace) together with other undergraduate students, are subject to the same obligations as them with regard to the courses they are required to attend, and are examined together with them during the scheduled examination periods.”

More information can be found at http://tinyurl.com/y3bw87lv