Establishment of the Certificate of Attainment in Greek

IIn Greece there has been a significant rise in the number of learners of Greek as a second/foreign language due to the multinational, multilingual and multicultural dimension of the Greek community. Today, courses of Greek as a second/foreign language are offered in virtually all Greek universities and also by private institutions in various parts of Greece, by Prefectural Authorities for People's Education (NELE) and at the reception centres for people of Greek descent. Greek is also taught as a second language in primary and secondary schools where some students are foreigners (or of Greek descent).

Greek courses are also organized abroad by universities, Greek communities, language centres and people's universities. Many of the students are of Greek descent wishing to preserve the language along with their cultural heritage. A persisting request of all learners of Greek in Greece and abroad has been the establishment of an officially recognized state Certificate of Attainment in Greek.

The Certificate of Attainment in Greek was legally established by the Ministry of Education in November 1998 with >
the Presidential Decree 363/15.10.1998 The P.D. clearly defined the format of the Certificate, the requirements for its acquisition, the procedure and the structure of the exams, the conditions of participation in the exams, the grade scale, and the procedure of establishment of exam centres.
The Ministerial Resolution B7/256/19.05.1998 (Government Gazette 530/01.06.1998) defined the linguistic skills on which candidates are examined at each level,
while with thethe Ministerial Resolution B7/255/19.05.1998 (Government Gazette 530/01.06.1998) the Centre for the Greek Language was appointed as the exclusive official authority responsible for the design and administration of Certificates of Attainment in Greek with the assistance of local authorities (exam centres). Finally, according to the Ministerial Resolution B7/144/06.04.1999 (Government Gazette 358/13.04.1999) the Centre for the Greek Language was appointed as the exclusive decision-making authority for all maters concerning the organization of the exams.