Greek teachers to receive EUR 200 vouchers to purchase IT equipment

The country is investing in the digital transformation of education

On 2 February, the Greek Ministry of Education revealed that it will distribute vouchers worth EUR 200 to more than 160,000 permanent and substitute teachers in the country. With this money, they will then be able to purchase IT equipment such as tablets and laptops, among others. In this way, the Ministry hopes to accelerate the digital transformation of education. 

Building on previous success

In a press release, the Minister of Education Niki Kerameus pointed out that the allocation of vouchers will be an extension of the previous Digital Welfare programme: a project through which more than 500,000 children and young people (ages 4-24) received similar vouchers. 

Explaining the purpose of these actions, Kerameus shared that investing in human capital is crucial as teachers play a leading role in upgrading the country’s schools. Taking this further, Kerameus discussed how education is changing, noting:

“In a short period of time, only two and a half years, many important steps have been taken. Our schools are changing in practice. Our teachers and children operate in a new, more digitised environment, which is constantly expanding, offering more and more possibilities. In this context, we are increasingly facilitating the work of our teachers and we are increasingly helping our children to make their dreams come true.”

On its website, the Ministry lists some of the actions it has taken over the past two and a half years. These include but are not limited to:

• The provision of more than 90,000 tablets and laptops in schools;
• Mass upgrade of schools’ connections to fibre optic networks;
• The digitalisation of various processes (e.g., e-registration);
• Installation of interactive whiteboards in classrooms;
• Development of robotics laboratories;
• Creation of digital education material.