Seta Theodoridou, President of the Greek Community of Paris, made an appeal to the Greek Ministry of Education to move forward with an interstate agreement with its French counterpart for the official accreditation of Greek language learning programs in the Community’s schools. The goal, she explained, is for the students’ grades in these classes to be officially acknowledged as proof of proficiency in Greek as a foreign language within the framework of the French Baccalauréat. She spoke on Voice of Greece radio and in the program “Our Global Voice” with Dimitris Kontogiannis.
Ms. Theodoridou noted that currently there is only one high school in Paris offering two-hour Greek language courses, which are overcrowded, and the teacher responsible for them is close to retirement and cannot be replaced. This is because the procedure allowing a foreign teacher to be certified to teach their native language in France has been abolished. She warned that in one or two years a problem will arise, since the children who have been studying Greek for years will not be able to have it accredited as a foreign language in their Baccalauréat.
She also expressed her satisfaction with the increase in the number of teachers sent from Greece this school year—ten, a record number—compared to six or seven in previous years, thanks to the efforts of coordinator Amalia Kapsala from Brussels. She added that the ideal number would be fourteen teachers, allowing for five teaching hours instead of the current two every Saturday, for the more than 700 students enrolled. The very high success rate in the Greek language proficiency exams, she said, is proof of the excellent work being done.
The President of the Greek Community also referred to the various events organized by the Community, such as the current exhibition of forty paintings by artist Varvara Kouklidi, who passed away at the age of 102, at the Maison Hellénique. On 15 October, the Community will host the presentation of Anna Theodoridou’s book on the September Pogroms, titled “Partir ou Rester” (To Leave or to Stay), under the auspices of the Greek Consulate. The annual reception celebrating 28 October is also being prepared.