The name is absent

96

college and university system: a ferocious competition usually resulting in vast
disappointment.

Beginning their college or university careers, students would move into a sphere
which has been overtly controlled by the dominant political parties for decades, where
party agents and representatives of unofficial political movements peddle their ideologies
openly and actively attempt to polarize and even radicalize the student body
(Kontogiorgis 2009). Moreover, it would become obvious that the administrations at
these schools were crippled by corruption and poor management, academic standards
were shockingly low, faculties openly condoned most academic offenses⁹⁷, and that
campuses were neglected and disintegrating⁹⁸. Whereas afterschool tutoring offered an
advanced look at Clientelism and corruption, colleges and universities stood as
microcosms of the broader state of politics in the country. Students entering into these
spaces tended to adopt flippant attitudes toward them and developed clever strategies to
circumnavigate requirements and policies with a view toward “getting through” the
system rather than gaining an education (Kontogiorgis 2009:93). In effect, the time
individuals spent in college and universities resulted in what is tantamount to a multi-year
training ground for a fractious citizenship contemptuous of formal processes,
representatives, and structures, prone to potentially mischievous civil action. Graduation
would be followed by a lengthy job search in a market which has been very small since
the 1980s (Greece 2009b) and relatively closed due to the Clientelism governs much of
the hiring in the country. Even the youth that were fortunate enough to find jobs would

⁹⁷ According to my interviews, these academic offenses include the submission of “purchased papers” and
plagiarism. At some universities it is even common practice for professors and teaching assistants to
“ghost write” papers, theses, and other academic works for students willing to pay for these services.

⁹⁸ This was due mostly to neglect and vandalism.

<<   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   >>

More intriguing information