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The draft law, which was put out for public consultation by the Ministry of Education, aspires to change the balance in secondary education and open new paths for students.
The Greek Lyceum is entering a period of restructuring , as the International Baccalaureate (IB ) is for the first time institutionally integrated into the public education system and is explicitly recognized as equal to the General Lyceum diploma. The initiative is included in a draft law, which was put into public consultation by the Ministry of Education, aspiring to change the balance in secondary education and open new paths for students.
The new provisions provide for the operation of the International Baccalaureate in public school units, while there are regulations regarding the selection of students and registrations, the certification of IB teachers, as well as the required funding.
IB enters public high schools
According to the relevant regulations, included in articles 75 to 78, which amend Law 2327/1995 and introduce new articles (10A, 10B and 10C), which determine the framework for the operation, registration, staffing and financing of IB departments, the two-year IB program will begin on a pilot basis from the next school year, 2026-27 for students in the 2nd and 3rd grades in 13 public high schools, of different types and characteristics – Standard, Experimental, Music and Artistic – in three large urban areas of the country. Although the initial number of students is estimated at approximately 350, it is expected that this pilot stage is in fact a harbinger of wider expansion, provided that the project is evaluated positively.
The crucial element, however, is not only the introduction of the program, but its explicit recognition as equal and equivalent to the Greek high school diploma. In other words, the IB ceases to be considered a “parallel” or alternative path and acquires a position equal to the Greek high school.
This parity does not come without conditions. More specifically, the IB will operate in parallel with the existing Greek high school program, offering an alternative educational path within the public school, without abolishing the traditional path leading to the Panhellenic Examinations.
The framework provides that, in addition to the courses of the international program, IB students will be required to take Modern Greek Language and Literature as well as History, in accordance with the current system of promotional and graduation exams.
The presence of these courses is considered crucial for the IB diploma to “fit” with the requirements of the national education system.
With a view not only to the legal but also to the educational assimilation of the IB with the Greek diploma, the integration of core Greek courses ensures that the international program is not cut off from the national educational identity, but coexists with it.
At the same time, most of the courses in the program will be taught in English, a choice that reinforces the international character of the IB. It is worth noting that teaching the majority of courses in English prepares students for studies in academic environments outside Greece.
Student selection and the role of the IEP
The practical issues of implementation will be regulated by ministerial decisions and joint ministerial decisions, following recommendations from the Institute of Educational Policy. They will determine, among other things, the number of students per department, the selection criteria and the schools in which IB departments will operate. In fact, it is foreseen that students from other Lyceums will be able to register, if the required number is not reached. In this way, the possibility of adjustments or corrective actions will be provided. However, the question remains open as to how transparency and equal access to a program of increased prestige will be ensured.
Teachers, training and funding
Particular importance is also given to staffing. The IB sections will be taught exclusively by certified teachers, according to the standards of the International Baccalaureate Organization. A special stipend is provided for their participation in the program, while the role of the IB Coordinator is also institutionalized in each school unit. At the same time, the state undertakes to cover critical expenses: from examination fees and subscriptions to the international organization to teacher training and the necessary equipment.
Is the path to access public universities also open through IB?
Today, IB holders have access to universities abroad and to non-state institutions in Greece. However, in the context of the broader dialogue on the “National Baccalaureate”, the debate is also opening on whether graduates of the public IB of Greek schools will be able to claim a place in Greek public universities in the future, while it would require a new ‘look’ at the Panhellenic exams and the prospect of their abolition.
If this plan goes ahead, it will be a profound change in the physiognomy of the Lyceum, as the IB will cease to be simply an international passport of studies and will become a fully recognized path within the Greek educational map.
As it turns out, the institutionalization of the equivalence of the IB and the Greek baccalaureate is not simply a technical reform. It touches the core of the educational philosophy of the new Lyceum, raising the question of whether the public school can combine international orientation, academic rigor and national identity.
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