The bill of the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports entitled “Establishment of a Higher School of Performing Arts, establishment of a new category of positions in Artistic Education, framework for the operation of Higher Schools of Artistic Education and Higher Schools of Music Education and other regulations” was put to public consultation yesterday, Wednesday, February 18, 2026.

This is an extensive institutional framework, combining a historic reform in the field of performing arts with interventions, which concern the whole of public education: from school libraries to vocational guidance and the International Baccalaureate.

A university home for the performing arts

Home for the arts – a home for the arts in the arts community

The central focus of the bill is the establishment of the Senior School of Performing Arts (S.P.T.A., a public and self-governing special-purpose higher education institution. This initiative attempts to fill a long-standing institutional gap and to implement an explicit political commitment: the establishment of a university level of studies in the performing arts, with a unified framework, transparency and a clear academic perspective.

The A.S.P.T. aspires to become the common academic “home” of five historical public institutions: the National Theatre, the National Opera, the State School of Orchestral Art, the State Theatre of Northern Greece and the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki. This is not a simple amalgamation of structures, but a national project with a unified identity and long-term planning, worthy of the history and international presence of Greek artists.

Structure, admission and transition of students

The new School is organized in a way that links academic formation with artistic practice. Students will be admitted through specific examinations, with face-to-face assessment of skills adapted to the nature of each subject. The institutional use of established artists is envisaged in the staffing, with clear and stable rules, so that the quality of the studies is also based on the experience of the field.

Special care is taken for the students already enrolled in the existing schools. The possibility is provided for them to join the corresponding programmes of the ASPTO up to a certain semester and under certain conditions – the most important being the possession of a high school diploma – ensuring a smooth and institutionally safe transition to a university degree. Those who do not wish to or do not meet the integration requirements will be able to complete their studies within the existing framework, obtaining a level 5 qualification of the National Qualifications Framework.

At the same time, a clear timetable is set for the gradual cessation of enrolment of new students in the old schools and their final closure, in order to avoid the perpetuation of a dual system.

Restructuring of higher artistic and musical education

The hitherto Schools of Higher Artistic Education are reformed and given a single name, while the music institutions are organized accordingly as Higher Schools of Music Education. Their titles are explicitly classified at level 5 of the National Qualifications Framework, with clear recognition of existing titles as equivalent. Their usefulness as formal qualifications for corresponding positions is confirmed, while at the same time an academic pathway to higher education institutions is opened through classification in an advanced semester.
From the end of 2026, the supervision of arts education is transferred entirely to the Ministry of Education.

The school libraries

The bill includes an extensive package of interventions for public schools as well.
School libraries are now seen as a critical infrastructure for educational equity. The role of the School Library Manager – preferably a librarian – is established and networking and cooperation between libraries is envisaged to reduce inequalities between school units. At the same time, a digital ecosystem of school libraries is being created, with interconnection, dissemination of digital content and special care for pupils with disabilities.

International Baccalaureate in the public system

For the first time, a comprehensive framework for the operation of theInternational Baccalaureate (IB) in public schools is being established for the first time. Specific issues concerning the teaching and examination in Modern Greek Language and Literature and History are regulated, while clear procedures are laid down for the establishment and operation of departments, student enrolment, staffing and the coverage of equipment needs.

More timely and effective vocational guidance

Vocational guidance is strengthened and moved earlier in the school pathway. Counselling is extended to the 3rd grade, with two individual sessions per student, and coordination is done by utilizing the National Organization for Qualification Certification and Vocational Guidance’s register of counsellors. An online application is also being created through gov.gr, fully accessible to people with disabilities, which will be accessible to students of the third grade of high school and the first grade of high schools, secondary schools, special education high schools and EN.E.E.G.L.

Regulations for the Tempi and education staff

The same bill extends until 2027 the special provision for the admission to higher education of relatives, victims and victims of the Tempi railway accident of 28 February 2023.

At the same time, an attempt is being made to streamline the framework for the secondment and transfer of teachers, SNEs and SNEs to the services and supervised bodies of the Ministry. Postings are given a three-year term and require a specially reasoned decision, with the aim of meeting administrative needs without weakening schools. There is also provision for a one-time transfer to vacant organic posts for those who have been out of school for five years or more.

Other interventions

Finally, the bill includes provisions for higher education, with an adjustment of the framework for exceptional transfers and transfers to ensure academic balance. Quality guarantees in the operation of the Interdisciplinary Academic and Information Recognition Agency are strengthened, with the aim of reducing delays and failures, while in the regulated professions the proportionality test and the obligation to justify restrictive measures are strengthened, for the benefit of transparency and institutional clarity.