Φέτος, έχει σταματήσει να λειτουργεί το Τμήμα Προχωρημένων στο Πρόγραμμα Ελληνικών Σπουδών στο Πανεπιστήμιο La Trobe. Πρόκειται για μια απόφαση που ισχύει και για παρόμοια τμήματα και άλλων γλωσσικών προγραμμάτων στο ίδιο πανεπιστήμιο, όπως πληροφόρησε το Πρόγραμμά μας, η Δρ. Σταυρούλα Νικολούδη
Ζωτικής σημασίας χαρακτηρίζει την επαναφορά του προχωρημένου επιπέδου (Advanced) του Προγράμματος Ελληνικών Σπουδών του Πανεπιστημίου La Trobe η συντονίστρια του προγράμματος, Δρ Σταυρούλα Νικολούδη, μιλώντας στην ελληνική ραδιοφωνία του SBS.
Το πανεπιστήμιο διέκοψε φέτος το Advanced Major σε όλες τις διδασκόμενες γλώσσες, επικαλούμενο χαμηλό αριθμό εγγραφών.
Όπως διευκρίνισε η Δρ Νικολούδη, δεν πρόκειται για κατάργηση ολόκληρου του προγράμματος, όπως είχε απειληθεί το 2020, όμως η απώλεια του προχωρημένου επιπέδου «καταργεί τη δυνατότητα γλωσσικής εξειδίκευσης».
Οι απόφοιτοι του VCE εντάσσονται πλέον σε τάξεις χαμηλότερες των γνώσεών τους, μαζί με αρχάριους δεύτερου έτους.
Μετά από παρέμβαση της Συμμαχίας «Φάρος», που συναντήθηκε με τον νέο Κοσμήτορα της Σχολής Ανθρωπιστικών και Κοινωνικών Επιστημών, Καθηγητή Matt McGuire, το πανεπιστήμιο πρότεινε λύση:
η παροικία να συνεισφέρει 91.500 δολάρια ώστε το Advanced να λειτουργήσει για τα επόμενα τρία χρόνια, με το πανεπιστήμιο να καλύπτει το υπόλοιπο κόστος.
O «Φάρος» και το Πρόγραμμα προσεγγίζουν ήδη οργανισμούς και δωρητές που έχουν βοηθήσει στο παρελθόν, ενώ και οι φοιτητές ετοιμάζουν δική τους εκδήλωση συγκέντρωσης χρημάτων.
Το La Trobe παραμένει το μοναδικό πανεπιστήμιο της Βικτώριας που προσφέρει μαθήματα ελληνικής γλώσσας, εκπαιδεύοντας τους μελλοντικούς δασκάλους των ελληνικών.
Η Δρ Νικολούδη υπενθύμισε ότι το 2020 το πανεπιστήμιο είχε δεσμευθεί πως το πρόγραμμα θα συνεχιζόταν «επ' αόριστον και άνευ όρων», δέσμευση που ανατράπηκε από τις αλλαγές στα στρατηγικά του σχέδια.
«Το μεγαλύτερο μάθημα είναι ότι πρέπει να βρούμε μια μακροχρόνια λύση, ώστε να μην ξαναβρεθούμε στην ίδια κατάσταση», τόνισε.
Στο ερώτημα τι θα σήμαινε η οριστική απώλεια του Advanced, η απάντησή της ήταν κατηγορηματική:
«Για μένα θα ήταν καταστροφή. Πιστεύω ότι θα μπορέσουμε να το επαναφέρουμε, αλλά είναι πολύ σημαντικό να έχουμε στήριξη και από την κυβέρνηση».
Την Κυριακή 26 Ιουλίου 2026, εστάλη στο Πρόγραμμά μας το παρακάτω κείμενο, από τον πρόεδρο της Συμμαχίας "Φάρος", καθηγητή Joseph Lo Bianco:
A Remarkable Moment for Greek: Global Recognition, Local Responsibility
Why this moment demands action from the Greek Australian community.
By Joseph Lo Bianco, President, Pharos Alliance
We are living through one of the most remarkable moments for the Greek language in recent decades.
Around the world, the inaugural World Greek Language Day, recognised by UNESCO on 9 February this year, together with Christopher Nolan's film The Odyssey, has drawn unprecedented international attention to the enduring power of Homer, Ancient Greek literature, and the extraordinary contribution of Greek to world civilisation.
Yet at precisely this moment of global recognition, Victoria risks losing key pillars of its own Greek educational tradition.
The state's only remaining school program in Ancient Greek at Xavier College after almost 150 years of teaching, is being discontinued. At the same time, a campaign is gathering momentum to revitalise the program, rebuild enrolments and restore this distinguished tradition.
Even more alarming, Victoria's only complete university program in Greek, at LaTrobe University, has suspended its Advanced Major subjects. Unless these subjects are restored, Victoria will lose its only full academic pathway in Greek language studies, with consequences extending far beyond the University itself.
Schools depend on universities to prepare future teachers, provide curriculum leadership, supervise research and sustain the scholarly expertise that underpins language education. Once advanced university study disappears, the effects inevitably flow downstream into schools and, over time, into the wider community.
For this reason, Pharos Alliance, working in close partnership with La Trobe University, has launched an ambitious campaign to restore the Advanced Major in Greek. From the outset, our approach has been collaborative. We warmly acknowledge the constructive spirit, goodwill and openness shown by the University's leadership. Rather than allowing the program to decline, Pharos negotiated an innovative shared-funding agreement under which the community has a genuine opportunity to secure the program's future.
The immediate objective is clear. We must raise $91,500 to unlock additional University funding and restore the Advanced Major in time for Semester 1, 2027, ensuring that current and future students are not disadvantaged. La Trobe University has promised that if the community can contribute the $91,500 it will provide the remaining $73,500, making possible a three-year restoration of the Advanced Major.
The campaign has begun strongly. More than forty-five members of the community attended Pharos Alliance's first public meeting, where the campaign was officially launched. The meeting generated lively discussion, widespread encouragement and the first financial pledges. Since then, further pledges have been received, while organisations and individuals across the Greek Australian community have begun planning their own fundraising initiatives.
We have been especially encouraged by the enthusiasm of student organisations, both nationally and at La Trobe itself, which are organising fundraising activities, and by the willingness of community organisations to meet with campaign representatives and consider substantial contributions. Media coverage in both the Greek and Englishlanguage press has also helped spread awareness of both the challenge and the opportunity before us.
Discussions with the University are continuing to determine the earliest practical date for restoring the discontinued subjects. A further public meeting will soon be announced to update the community on fundraising progress, negotiations with the University and the next stages of the campaign. We warmly invite everyone with an interest in the future of Greek language education to attend.
Those present at the first public meeting agreed that the campaign should proceed in two stages.
The first is the urgent restoration of the Advanced Major for Semester 1, 2027. This is our immediate priority, and all fundraising efforts are now directed towards achieving that goal. The second stage will begin immediately afterwards. Pharos Alliance will convene an open public process to develop a long-term strategy for Greek language education at La Trobe University. Together, we will examine the options that can secure the program on a permanent basis. Our aim is not merely to rescue subjects under threat, but to use this remarkable community mobilisation to build a sustainable future for Greek across schools, universities and the wider community for generations to come.
What confronts us is, in one sense, a very local issue. Yet it reflects the larger story of Greek itself. For more than three millennia, Greek has survived because successive generations accepted responsibility for transmitting their language, literature, humanism and civilisation to those who followed. The current generation now faces that same responsibility in Victoria.
This campaign is therefore about far more than restoring university subjects. It is about preserving a complete educational pathway in Greek, from school to university, and ensuring that future generations inherit the language, literature and intellectual tradition inherited from those who came before.
The response so far gives every reason for confidence. The campaign has begun with unity, goodwill and determination. With continued community support, we can restore the full Greek program at La Trobe University and lay the foundations for an even stronger future for Greek language education in Victoria.
