Call for the establishment of new examination centres

All Institutions in Greece and abroad interested in operating an examination centre for the Certificate of Attainment in Greek may complete the relevant Application Form and submit it to the Centre for the Greek Language (CGL). The deadline for submitting the Application Form is on the middle of November each year. A competent academic committee for the Certificate will screen all the applications and notify the interested bodies accordingly by the middle of December.
The criteria for an institution to be recognised as an examination centre are the following:

a) Facilities

The examination centres should have properly equipped classrooms. It must be ensured that there is one desk for each candidate and there will be some distance between the desks. There should be ample space for the invigilators.
The examination centres should also ensure the safekeeping of the examination and other confidential materials. The use of a safe is strongly advised. Otherwise, materials should be kept in a locked and not easily accessible area.
Examination centres should also have the appropriate equipment for the conduct of the examinations, i.e. audiovisual equipment, photocopying facilities, cassette recorders, notice board, etc.

b) Secretariat

The examination centres should ensure that a competent person, who will be informed and trained by the person responsible for the examination centre, should be available in working hours to:
1. give information and answer relevant queries
2. receive candidates' applications
3. deal with current needs (i.e. deposit examination fees to the CGL bank account, deal with relevant correspondence with the CGL, check the candidates' documentation, etc.)

c) Qualified scientific personnel

Examination centres assume responsibility for the persons who will be asked to invigilate and conduct the speaking skill examination. During this examination there should be one examiner and one assessor. Both should have native or near-native fluency in Greek. Personnel experienced in invigilating should also be available for the written part of the examination.

δ) General criteria

The general criteria are the following:
1. It is necessary that the examination centre registers at least five (5) candidates for the examinations
2. Examination centres assume responsibility to publicise the examination by any appropriate means to as many potential candidates in their area as possible. Publicisation may include announcements in the local press, production of advertisements (approved by the CGL before their circulation), etc.
3. It is required that there is no other examination centre in a radius of at least 150-200 kilometres. A candidate should be able to reach the examination centre and take part in the examination on the same day without having to stay at the examination place overnight.
4. Generally, examination centres should have the means as well as the experience to conduct the examinations and carry them out without any problems.
It should be pointed out that:
1. The establishment of an examination centre is valid for one year in the first instance. It is not necessary for an examination centre to submit another application for the following year, unless so required by the CGL.
2. The competent examinations committee may require a member of the CGL to locally survey the operation of any examination centre. In this way the committee can evaluate the centre.