Photos: Greek students protest government plan for private universities

Thousands of Greek students rallied in Athens and other cities on Thursday to protest against planned education reforms that would allow the introduction of private universities in the country.

The conservative government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who won a second term last year, is expected to submit a bill to parliament this month that would permit private universities to operate inside Greece.

The government has said the schools will operate as branches of foreign universities. Many believe the move will devalue degrees from Greece’s public universities and that the private system will exclude those who cannot afford it.

The change will “tear apart the public university as we knew it”, said student Christina Iliopoulou, who joined the protest in Athens. “It will destroy our daily life in terms of how we will be able to find a job after we graduate.”

The protests were largely peaceful, but there was a brief clash in Athens between protesters and police, who fired tear gas.