1. Political, Social and Economic Background and Trends

GRECIA

1. POLITICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC BACKGROUND AND TRENDS

Please refer to the respective subdivisions.

1.1. Historical overview

Greece, after its liberation from the long Ottoman occupation and its proclamation as an independent and sovereign state (1830) went through a lengthy process of setting up its political system and finalizing the extent of its territory.

In the time between the two World Wars, the main concern lied in maintaining the country's safety and establishing democratic institutions along with a strong radical change within Hellenic society that sets the bases of modern, urban and industrial development in Greece. With this perspective, Greece, after its liberation from the Axis powers (1944), becomes a member of the United Nations (1945) and some years later (1951) joins the NATO coalition.

Following the fall of the seven-year-long military regime (1967-1974) and after a referendum had been carried out, Greece adopts Presidential Republic as its political regime. The Hellenic Constitution in force was approved by the Hellenic Parliament in June 1975 and was subsequently revised in 1985 and in 2001 when it took its present form.

On 12 June 1975, Greece submitted its candidature to become a member state of the European Economic Community (EEC) and on 28 May 1979 the act of adherence was signed. On 1st January 2002 Greece entered the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). This has set the preconditions for financial circles to take more significant investment initiatives.

One hundred and eight years after the first revival of the Olympic Games at their birthplace (1986), Greece will hold the Olympic Games again in 2004. Part of the funds of the 3rd Community Support Framework has been allocated for that purpose and consequently, many major national public works are under way.

Constantine Stefanopoulos is the current President of the Hellenic Republic. He was elected for a second term in office in March 2000 whilst Kostas Karamanlis is the Prime Minister of Greece, head of the New Democracy (ÍÄ/ND) party, after winning the March 2004 general election. The other political parties represented in the Hellenic Parliament - on the basis of the number of seats they hold in the Parliament – are the following: The Panhellenic Socialist Party (ÐÁÓÏÊ/PASOK), the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and the Coalition of the Left and Progress (ÓÕÍ/SYN).

1.2. Ongoing Debates

The main strategic objective of the economic and social policy of Greece is to achieve genuine convergence with the developed countries of the European Union. In this context a stable macroeconomic policy is being drafted and implemented focusing on improving public finances whilst restraining public debt.

More specifically, it is of crucial importance to render Greek economy more competitive by creating a more attractive investment environment. Concurrently, horizontal sectorial policies are being developed forming the integrated government strategy. Primary economic sector (agriculture) is enhanced by rendering agricultural products more competitive.

At the same time, investment in human resources is rising to fight unemployment. For that purpose, education, training, new technologies, innovation and research are being utilized. An effort is made to provide citizens with better social services and to strengthen the sense of public safety. Sustainable development is another essential point of Hellenic policy making and, for this reason, the enhancement of environmental protection is a fundamental choice. This anthropocentric approach is completed by placing an emphasis on food safety and consumers' protection.

At the same time, Greece is seeking participation in all the international decision –making centres along with its active presence at crucial developments within the EU, e.g. the establishment of a common foreign and defense policy, EU enlargement, the restructuring of the Balkans, the strengthening of Euro-Mediterranean relations.

In this general context, a modern education policy has been drawn up. Its main axes of concern are how to increase funding for education from the national budget, constantly improve the quality and social efficiency of the education system, complete the rewriting of text books, enable all residents to have access to the education system, introduce incentives to utilize information society from an educational point of view, activate the education mechanism to achieve the Lisbon objectives and create links between education and the labor market.

Funds allocated from the 3rd Community Support Framework (CSF) and more specifically by the European Social Fund (ESF) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) are of major importance for the implementation of the above, as they constitute the main development instrument of the Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs (ÕÐÅÐÈ/YPEPTH).

A main point of the political concerns is the extent to which Greece's education system effectively contributes to the full development of the students' personality and their active participation in society. An essential choice made by the Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs (ÕÐÅÐÈ/YPEPTH) leaders is to cooperate with all education bodies at all levels of education. In this context, the initiation of a national dialogue on education with the participation of all education agencies, has already been announced and will begin in September 2004.

1.3. Main Executive and Legislative Bodies

According to the Hellenic Constitution, the legislative function is primarily performed by the Parliament and the President of the Republic while the executive function is performed by the President of the Republic and the government that must also enjoy the Parliament' s confidence.

The State's administration has been set up, in accordance with the decentralized system, into Central and Regional Services, the former being responsible for the general orientation, the coordination and the control of the latter.

The local issues management comes under the competency of Local Authorities (OTA). Municipalities are the first tier of these (as these were formed under the ''Kapodistrian'' Programme to unify local authorities in Greece) and Prefectural Authorities are the second.

Education policy in Hellas is mainly implemented by the Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs (ÕÐÅÐÈ/YPEPTH), which is assisted in its work by several ÕÐÅÐÈ/YPEPTÇ supervised bodies with specific mission and activity.

In the context of the official education system either in cooperation with it, or independently, education services, comprising various levels or not, are also provided by the following Ministries: Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Development, Ministry of Labor and Social Security, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Public Order, and Ministry of Merchant Marine.

1.4. Religions

The relations between the state and the religious communities in the country are governed by the Hellenic Constitution, the applicable law and international conventions.

There is no legal segregation between the State and the Church.

In accordance with the Constitution of Greece (Part A, Section B, Article 3) the prevailing religion in Greece is the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ.

Hellenic Constitution (Part B, Article 13) also stipulates that: 1) the freedom of religious belief is inviolable; 2) enjoyment of individual and political rights does not depend on one's religious belief; 3) all established religions are allowed and the rituals related to their worship can be performed freely and are guaranteed by the law; 4) the ministers of all established religions are equally supervised by the State and have the same obligations towards it as the ministers of the prevailing religion.

1.5. Official and Minority Languages

The official language of Greece is Greek. It is used throughout the Greek territory and taught at all levels of education.

Turkish is the language used by the Muslim minority in Thrace and taught at the minority schools in the same area. The 102,000 strong Muslim minority consists of indigenous inhabitants of the region. They constitute about 1/3 of the total local population. Half of them are of Turkish origin or Turkish-speaking, 35% are Pomacs, speaking Pomac, whilst the remaining 15% are Roma, speaking Romani. Greek, as the official language of the state, is also taught at the minority schools.

Apart from Thrace, Romani-speaking citizens, in their majority Christians, are also interspersed in other parts of the country. Within the Greek territory, other languages such as Armenian or Hebrew are spoken by Greek citizens, as well some oral patois, e.g. a Slav idiom (mainly spoken at border areas, in parallel with Greek, by a small number of bilingual citizens), Vlach (Aromanian), Ladino, which is spoken by members of the Jewish community, etc.

1.6. Demographic Situation

Greece is located at the southernmost tip of Europe and covers an area of 131,957 sq. km.

According to the data provided by the National Statistical Service of Greece (ÅÓÕÅ/ESYE), its population is now 10.94 million based on data from the last census in 2001. 5.43 million (49.56%) of them are male and 5.53 (50.45%) are female.

According to the ÅÓÕÅ/ESYE life tables, life expectancy average is 74.6 years for men and 79.4 years for women. In the last decades, the participation of 0-14 age group has been falling whilst the participation of the over 65 age group has been increasing. According to forecasts, the population structure –depending on the age groups– will be quite different in the decades to come due to adverse demographic changes, decreasing number of births and ageing population. Namely, by 2020 the 0-14 age group is expected to have fallen at 14.9% while the over 65 age group is expected to have attained 21% of the population.

From the mid 1940s, for political and economic reasons, there has been a significant flow of domestic migrants moving from rural and semi-urban areas towards the large urban conurbations of Athens and Thessaloniki. Today, the majority of the population still lives in large cities. More specifically, Athens conurbation accommodates approximately 27.6% of the estimated population of Greece and approximately 7.3% and 1.7% respectively of the total population live in Thessaloniki and Patras conurbations .

During the years 1952-1974 Greece produced a significant migratory flow of Greeks towards foreign countries –mainly western European. The repatriation of Greek migrants started after the oil crisis in 1973 and contributed to the real increase of the country's population in the 1970s.

Conversely, since the early 1990s Greece has become a host country for a large number of immigrants. This has contributed to the increase of the general population. In accordance with the latest data available (2001 census), immigrants amount to 762,191 inhabitants, 438,036 of which are Albanian citizens, while other countries of origin are Bulgaria (38,104), Georgia (22,815), Romania (21,994), the USA (18,140), Cyprus (17,426), the Russian Federation (17,535), Ukraine (13,616), the United Kingdom (13,196), Poland (12,831), Germany (11,806), Pakistan (11,130) and other.

From the total number of immigrants in Greece the following reasons were advanced as the main cause for moving to Greece: Seeking Employment 413,212; Repatriation 51,694; Family reunification 99,968; Studies 20,787; Asylum seeking 9,980; Refugees 2,368; Other reasons 164,180.

1.7. Economic Situation

According to the Ministry of National Economy and Finance and the European Union, Hellenic economy in 2003 (with a growth rate of 4.2%) is the fastest growing economy within the European Union (EE-15 mean of1.3%). The year 2003 is the eighth year in a row that the economy has been growing faster than the European average.

A result of the fast growth rate of the Hellenic economy is the convergence of Hellenic GDP per capita to the EE-15 and OECD average in the four years 1999-2002. Moreover, in the last ten years inflation has radically dropped, from 19% in 1991 to 3% in 2003 but it still remains higher than the EU average.

Since 1995 and after the General Government budgetary balance –as measured by the Maastricht Treaty– it has gradually been falling as a GDP percentage and in 2002 it was lower than the EU average.

After 1996, public debt has gradually fallen (from approximately 111% to around 111% in 2003). At the same time, there is a drastic drop of interest rates from an initial 25% in 1994 to around 4% in 2003.

Since 1996, the rate of increase of total investment has been noticeably higher than the respective rate in the Eurozone countries (8% as against 4% in the years 1996-2000). As for public investment funded by 2/3 by Hellenic sources and by 1/3 by community sources it has been rapidly growing. Nevertheless, in spite of the continuous improvement of the main economic aggregates, foreign investment in Greece remains low.

In the 1994-2003 ten-year-period, Greece has achieved the highest productivity increase in EU. More specifically, in 1994 productivity attained 74% of the European average whilst in 2003 it attained 86%.

Finally, with regard to unemployment, it has been rising since 1999, when it attained 12% approximately. Since then it has been falling in a stable way, while in 2003 it fluctuated around 9% converging with the European average.

1.8. Statistics

1. MAIN MACROECONOMIC AGGREGATES: Gross Domestic Produce, Gross Domestic Product Per Capita

Reference Year / GDP
(at constant prices in € million ) / Per Capita GDP
(at current prices in €)
1995 / 79,927 / 7,515,8
1996 / 81,812 / 8,202,9
1997 / 84,788 / 9,022,1
1998 / 87,640 / 9,761,3
1999 / 90,799 / 10,371,7
2000 / 94,587 / 11,140,0
2001 / 98,465 / 11,970,3
2002 / 102,357 / 12,888,5

Source: National Statistical Service of Greece (ÅÓÕÅ /ESYE)

2. GROWTH RATE

Reference Year / Quarterly GDP (in € million) / Change n/n-4 (%) / Annual GDP (in € million) /

Change of Annual GDP

2000 IV / 24,000 / 4.6 / 94,670 / 4.4%
2001 I
II
III
IV / 24,290
24,455
24,875
24,875 / 5.1
4.0
3.5
3.6 / 98,495 / 4.0%
2002 I
II
III
IV / 25,360
25,448
25,785
25,704 / 4.3
4.0
3.6
3.2 / 102,297 / 3.9%
2003 I
II
III
IV / 26,450
26,415
27,905
26,817 / 4.7
3.8
4.3
4.3 / 106,678 / 4.2%

Source: ÅÓÕÅ/ESYE

3. PEOPLE EMPLOYED PER AGE GROUP, GENDER AND LEVEL OF EDUCATION IN THE YEARS 1999-2002 FOR THE WHOLE OF GREECE

(Én thousands)

Level of Education / Years / Total / Up to the age of 19 / 20 – 24 years
Male / Fem. / Male / Fem. / Male / Fem.
Tertiary / 1999 / 599.9 / 481.3 / 0.3 / 1.0 / 23.8 / 47.4
2000 / 617.6 / 497.7 / 0.7 / 1.4 / 24.7 / 49.6
2001 / 603.6 / 492.1 / 0.2 / 0.3 / 25.4 / 49.0
2002 / 603.9 / 501.1 / 0.6 / 1.6 / 25.9 / 47.0
Secondary / 1999 / 1,026.3 / 512.2 / 23.6 / 15.7 / 128.3 / 78.4
2000 / 1,033.2 / 520.5 / 27.2 / 13.9 / 121.7 / 74.4
2001 / 1,027.5 / 540.2 / 22.7 / 11.8 / 113.1 / 73.6
2002 / 1,072.7 / 555.2 / 21.0 / 10.6 / 118.1 / 69.9
Primary
No school attendance / 1999 / 840.3 / 479.9 / 17.7 / 6.0 / 25.3 / 9.9
2000 / 806.5 / 470.8 / 13.5 / 6.1 / 25.4 / 8.0
2001 / 800.3 / 453.9 / 11.3 / 5.5 / 26.4 / 8.5
2002 / 765.9 / 450.1 / 11.1 / 4.6 / 24.6 / 8.3

(table contd)

Level of Education / Years / 25 – 29 years / 30 – 44 years / 45 – 64 years / 65 - years
Male / Fem. / Mal. / Fem. / Mal. / Fem. / Mal. / Fem
Tertiary / 1999 / 74.2 / 98.1 / 294.7 / 248.5 / 199.8 / 85.9 / 7.2 / 0.3
2000 / 77.8 / 95.7 / 293.7 / 253.4 / 211.8 / 96.4 / 8.9 / 1.2
2001 / 74.8 / 99.1 / 291.5 / 250.9 / 203.4 / 92.1 / 8.4 / 0.8
2002 / 76.4 / 98.7 / 284.9 / 250.4 / 204.9 / 102.0 / 11.1 / 1.5
Secondary / 1999 / 175.0 / 85.0 / 442.3 / 240.6 / 247.5 / 90.4 / 9.5 / 2.1
2000 / 176.1 / 84.1 / 439.5 / 244.1 / 260.2 / 102.0 / 8.6 / 2.1
2001 / 172.2 / 84.1 / 449.9 / 256.4 / 260.0 / 111.1 / 9.7 / 3.2
2002 / 175.3 / 80.5 / 470.6 / 274.9 / 277.3 / 116.4 / 10.4 / 2.8
Primary
No school attendance / 1999 / 38.1 / 13.8 / 228.8 / 146.0 / 471.7 / 277.0 / 58.7 / 27.1
2000 / 36.5 / 11.2 / 202.5 / 138.6 / 469.3 / 280.9 / 59.2 / 26.0
2001 / 38.5 / 10.4 / 203.7 / 125.8 / 466.1 / 276.9 / 54.3 / 26.8
2002 / 33.8 / 11.5 / 195.3 / 125.8 / 446.5 / 275.1 / 54.6 / 24.8

Source: ÅÓÕÅ /ESYE

3. NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED PER AGE GROUP, GENDER AND LEVEL OF EDUCATION IN THE YEARS 1999-2002, FOR THE WHOLE OF GREECE

(Én thousands)

Level of Education / Year / Total / Up to 19 years / 20 – 24 years / 25 – 29 years
Male / Fem. / Male / Fem. / Male / Fem. / Male / Fem.
Tertiary / 1999 / 45.5 / 89.2 / 0.2 / 2.0 / 8.7 / 28.2 / 16.1 / 26.6
2000 / 40.8 / 83.9 / 0.1 / 1.1 / 7.6 / 22.0 / 14.9 / 29.4
2001 / 37.0 / 77.0 / _ / 0.5 / 7.1 / 22.3 / 12.2 / 25.8
2002 / 34.2 / 79.0 / 0.1 / 0.6 / 5.8 / 23.5 / 12.4 / 25.4
Secondary / 1999 / 106.1 / 160.7 / 12.8 / 21.9 / 35.2 / 47.3 / 22.3 / 30.7
2000 / 105.2 / 151.5 / 9.8 / 18.0 / 33.1 / 42.5 / 21.7 / 29.4
2001 / 98.7 / 136.7 / 8.7 / 12.5 / 30.0 / 39.1 / 23.1 / 23.5
2002 / 91.4 / 130.4 / 6.4 / 9.8 / 29.2 / 33.3 / 19.3 / 27.6
Primary
No school attendance / 1999 / 50.2 / 71.7 / 3.4 / 4.6 / 5.1 / 6.2 / 4.0 / 6.1
2000 / 47.3 / 62.3 / 3.9 / 5.0 / 6.1 / 4.2 / 4.4 / 4.5
2001 / 39.6 / 55.9 / 3.6 / 3.7 / 3.7 / 4.5 / 2.7 / 4.4
2002 / 36.1 / 48.9 / 2.3 / 2.0 / 2.4 / 3.1 / 3.7 / 2.6

(table contd)

Level of Education / Years / 30 – 44 years / 45 – 64 years / 65 and over
Male / Fem. / Male / Fem. / Male / Fem.
Tertiary / 1999 / 14.3 / 27.7 / 6.2 / 4.7 / _ / _
2000 / 12.3 / 26.9 / 5.9 / 4.6 / _ / _
2001 / 12.4 / 24.2 / 5.1 / 4.2 / 0.2 / _
2002 / 11.6 / 24.9 / 4.2 / 4.6 / 0.1 / _
Secondary / 1999 / 24.2 / 49.0 / 11.1 / 11.6 / 0.5 / 0.2
2000 / 28.9 / 50.5 / 11.7 / 10.9 / _ / 0.2
2001 / 25.8 / 50.1 / 10.7 / 11.5 / 0.4 / _
2002 / 24.6 / 50.9 / 11.7 / 8.8 / 0.3 / _
Primary
No school attendance / 1999 / 14.8 / 29.1 / 22.1 / 25.7 / 0.8 / _
2000 / 12.8 / 26.9 / 19.1 / 21.5 / 0.9 / 0.2
2001 / 8.8 / 21.8 / 20.1 / 21.5 / 0.7 / _
2002 / 9.4 / 19.4 / 17.8 / 21.8 / 0.5 / _

Source: ÅÓÕÅ /ESYE

4. AREA COVERED, DENSITY AND POPULATION OF GREECE: 1951 – 2001

Year of Census / Population / Changes / Area in sq km / Inhabitants per sq km
Absolute numbers / %
1951 / 7,632,801 / 287,941 / 3.92 / 131,957 / 57.84
1961 / 8,388,553 / 755,752 / 9.90 / 131,957 / 63.57
1971 / 8,768,641 / 380,088 / 4.53 / 131,957 / 66.45
1981 / 9,740,417 / 971,776 / 11.08 / 131,957 / 73.82
1991 / 10,259,900 / 519,483 / 5.33 / 131,957 / 77.75
2001 / 10,964,020 / 704,120 / 6.86 / 131,957 / 83.08

Source: ÅÓÕÅ /ESYE

5. URBAN, SUBURBAN AND RURAL POPULATION OF GREECE

1991 Census

Population / Distribution %
Total / Urban / Semi-urban / Rural / Urban / Semi-urban / Rural
10,259,900 / 6,036,660 / 1,312,774 / 2,910,466 / 58.8 / 12.8 / 28.4

Source: ÅÓÕÅ /ESYE

6. NATURAL POPULATION MOVEMENT

Marriages, births, deaths – Absolute numbers and rates: 1991 – 2001

Year / Marriages / Live births / Dead births / Deaths / Deaths under 1 year of age
Absolute figures / Per 1000 inhabitants / Absolute figures / Per 1000 Inhabitants / Absolute figures / Per 1000 Live births / Absolute figures / Per 1000 inhabitants / Absolute figures / Per 1000 live births
1991 / 65,568 / 6.40 / 102,620 / 10.01 / 706 / 6.88 / 95,498 / 9.32 / 927 / 9.03
1992 / 48,631 / 4.71 / 104,081 / 10.08 / 629 / 6.04 / 98,231 / 9.52 / 871 / 8.37
1993 / 62,195 / 5.99 / 101,799 / 9.81 / 679 / 6.67 / 97,419 / 9.39 / 864 / 8.49
1994 / 56,813 / 5.45 / 103,763 / 9.95 / 599 / 5.77 / 97,807 / 9.38 / 823 / 7.93
1995 / 63,987 / 6.12 / 101,495 / 9.71 / 645 / 6.35 / 100,158 / 9.58 / 827 / 8.15
1996 / 45,408 / 4.33 / 100,718 / 9.61 / 599 / 5.95 / 100,740 / 9.62 / 730 / 7.25
1997 / 60,535 / 5.77 / 102,038 / 9.72 / 628 / 6.15 / 99,738 / 9.50 / 657 / 6.44
1998 / 55,489 / 5.28 / 100,894 / 9.59 / 597 / 5.92 / 102,668 / 9.76 / 674 / 6.68
1999 / 61,165 / 5.80 / 100,643 / 9.55 / 624 / 6.20 / 103,304 / 9.80 / 619 / 6.15
2000 / 48,880 / 103,267 / 540 / 105,219 / 610 / 5.91
2001 / 58,491 / 102,282 / 588 / 102,559 / 522 / 5.10

Source: ÅÓÕÅ /ESYE

7. Immigration: Foreigners in Greece

Total / 762,191
Male / 415,552
Female / 346,639

Source: ÅÓÕÅ/ESYE, 2001 Census

1.8.1. Main Macroeconomic Aggregates

MAIN MACROECONOMIC AGGREGATES: Gross Domestic Produce, Gross Domestic Product Per Capita

Source: National Statistical Service of Greece (ÅÓÕÅ /ESYE)

1.8.2. Growth Rate

GROWTH RATE

Reference Year / Quarterly GDP (in € million) / Change n/n-4 (%) / Annual GDP (in € million) /

Change of Annual GDP

Source: ÅÓÕÅ/ESYE

1.8.3. People Employed per Age Group, Gender and Level of Education in the Years 1999-2002 for the Whole of Greece

PEOPLE EMPLOYED PER AGE GROUP, GENDER AND LEVEL OF EDUCATION IN THE YEARS 1999-2002 FOR THE WHOLE OF GREECE

(In thousands)

(table contd)

Source: ÅÓÕÅ /ESYE

1.8.4. Number of Unemployed per Age Group, Gender and Level of Education in the Years 1999-2002, for the Whole of Greece

NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED PER AGE GROUP, GENDER AND LEVEL OF EDUCATION IN THE YEARS 1999-2002, FOR THE WHOLE OF GREECE

(Én thousands)

(table contd)

Source: ÅÓÕÅ /ESYE

1.8.5. Area Covered, Density and Population of Greece: 1951 - 2001

AREA COVERED, DENSITY AND POPULATION OF GREECE: 1951 – 2001

Source: ÅÓÕÅ /ESYE

1.8.6. Urban, Suburban and Rural Population of Greece

URBAN, SUBURBAN AND RURAL POPULATION OF GREECE

1991 Census

Population / Distribution %
Total / Urban / Semi-urban / Rural / Urban / Semi-urban / Rural
10,259,900 / 6,036,660 / 1,312,774 / 2,910,466 / 58.8 / 12.8 / 28.4

Source: ÅÓÕÅ /ESYE

1.8.7. Natural Population Movement

NATURAL POPULATION MOVEMENT

Marriages, births, deaths – Absolute numbers and rates: 1991 – 2001

Source: ÅÓÕÅ /ESYE

1.8.8. Immigration: Foreigners in Greece

Immigration: Foreigners in Greece

Total / 762,191
Male / 415,552
Female / 346,639

Source: ÅÓÕÅ/ESYE, 2001 Census

2. GENERAL ORGANISATION OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM AND ADMINISTRATION OF EDUCATION

The general organisation and administration of the education system is in accordance with the organisation and administration structure of the State; it is, therefore, as follows:

 Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs

 Primary and Secondary Education Directorates at Prefectural level

 Primary and Secondary Education Directorates and Offices at Regional level

 School units.

For detailed information, please consult the competent subdivisions.

2.1. Historical Overview

University chairs; consolidation and guarantee of University sanctuary; authorization of the free movement of ideas in Universities. Further, democratic procedures were instituted through the substantial participation of all the organisations representing the University community in teaching, research and administration; four-year Pedagogical Departments were established at Universities replacing the two-year Pedagogical Academies; the instruction of a foreign language was introduced at the Primary school level; music, gymnastics and art were taught by specialised staff; Special needs education was arranged for persons with special needs; large-scale and compulsory further education was established for teachers.