A Greek-Albanian college

  • Filekpaideftiki Etaireia is a charitable, non-profit educational institution with a varied and multifaceted agenda.
  • One of the main objectives of Filekpaideftiki Etaireia is the foundation of schools and colleges.
  • A total of approximately 8,500 pupils attend the Arsakeion schools in Athens (Psychico and Ekali) and Thessaloniki, the Tossitseion schools in Patras and the Arsakeion College in Tirana (Albania). More than 750 exceptionally well-qualified tutors staff these schools. 

Filekpaideftiki Etaireia is the oldest educational institution in modern Greece. It was founded in Athens in 1836, in an effort to provide adequate education for the girls of the post-revolutionary era, by three prominent scholars ― loannis Kokkonis, George Gennadios and Bishop Michail Apostolides ― and it met with unqualified approval. Promptly, a large circle of donors gathered in support of Filekpaideftiki Etaireia, the most generous being Apostolos Arsakis and Michael and Helen Tossitsas.

The schools of Filekpaideftiki Etaireia soon spread to other Greek cities, but its greatest contribution to education in modern Greece was the creation of an upper school for girls for the education of schoolteachers, which for the next 63 years was the only female seminary in the country.

Filekpaideftiki Etaireia administers its three nursery, 10 primary and six secondary schools and seven lyceums, known as Arsakeion-Tossitseion Schools, through an elected president and board of directors, who undertake their duties gratis, considering it an honor to be called upon to fill these positions. A unique feature of the schools’ modus operandi is the ‘Epopteia,’ a board of inspectors with wide administrative and operational authority, delegated to inspect, control and assess the quality of the educational work accomplished, and to coordinate the operation of the schools. And, of course, Filekpaideftiki Etaireia places special emphasis on cooperating with its pupils’ parents, thus ensuring what is best for their progress and well-being.

All school premises are specially designed and constantly renovated, and they provide the appropriate space, facilities and equipment for a great variety of activities, including science and computer laboratories, a natural history museum, athletic fields and sports centers, conventional and electronic libraries, church, theater and so on.

Progress and innovation, however, have always been the strong points of Filekpaideftiki Etaireia and the past two decades were no exception: It has fostered the organization of educational seminars for teachers, so that they can keep abreast of recent developments in their field; it updated the schools themselves in the 1880s by making them co-educational; it renovated the Arsakeion building in the center of Athens, which, in 1996, reassumed its leading role in the city’s cultural life by housing an extensive book arcade; it announced the establishment of Arsakeion schools in Ioannina and Cyprus; and it created special services that cooperate with teachers and facilitate their work: the Cultural Events Service, the Educational Programs Service, the Counseling-Psychological Support Service, the Speech Therapy Service and the Career Consultancy Service. However, the overall picture of Filekpaideftiki Etaireia activities would not be complete were we not to mention Epikoinonia, the magazine in which all pertinent events as well as articles of a broader educational, cultural and social interest are publicized.

Constantly readapting itself to progress and innovation in the field of education and expanding its curriculum accordingly, Filekpaideftiki Etaireia has created the ideal environment in which young children have the opportunity both to discover the world around them and to understand and develop their own skills and talents.

Greece has traditionally been an ‘educator of the people of the world,’ disseminating knowledge and ideas on which much of the Western world’s society and culture have been based. True to this tradition, the Greek educational group Filekpaideftiki Etaireia, which operates the reknowned Arsakeion schools, has opened the first Greek-Albanian college in Tirana in order to promote, through education, a deeper understanding between the peoples of the two countries.

The Arsakeion Greek-Albanian College of Tirana (founded in 1998) is the first school established by Filekpaideftiki Etaireia outside Greece and it will endeavor to become an important educational center in SE Europe, on a par with the other schools of the group. Although its current premises are five rented buildings in Tirana, the construction of a modern campus is already under way on the school-owned 100-acre property near Elbasan, a few miles from the Albanian capital. On campus, the lyceum, high school, primary school and kindergarten will each be housed in its own building, provided with all the necessary facilities, while separate buildings will house the theater, the library, the administration offices, the gym, the boarders’ dormitories and the teachers’ residences.

The primary aim of the Arsakeion College in Tirana is, by employing all the modern multicultural educational methods, to provide a high standard of education, which should promote a more profound understanding of both the Greek and the Albanian cultural backgrounds and should be instrumental in achieving a broader collaboration between the two countries, not only on the educational but also on the cultural level.

While no effort is being spared in the teaching of the Albanian curriculum, special attention has also been given to the teaching of the Greek language, by employing the most up-to-date methodology under the guidance of the chairman of Filekpaideftiki Etaireia, Professor G. Babiniotis. The results are truly impressive: The high standard of education and the enriched curriculum provided by the school, in conjunction with the constant increase in the number of pupils, have already made the name Arsakeion a point of reference not only in Albania and Greece, but also in the wider area of SE Europe.

There is no doubt that the benefit of an upgraded education will foster a better understanding between the people of Albania and Greece ― a fact widely recognized in Albania, not only by the Tirana society, which is eager to see its children matriculate from the Arsakeion College, but by the Albanian Ministry of Education as well. The Albanian school inspectors have been full of praise not only for the expert organization of the school, detailed annual planning, pioneering methods of teaching and the manner of evaluating the pupils, but also for the competence of the teaching staff and the abundance of educational material. They have further expressed admiration for the various activities and cultural events organized by the school, which appeal to both pupils and their parents, strengthening the spirit of friendship and the mutual appreciation between the two countries. The Arsakeion College, by respecting the national and cultural tradition of Albania while acquainting its pupils with aspects of Greek culture, has achieved a harmonious coexistence of the two in the minds of both its pupils and their families. In this respect, the Arsakeion College is not only a font of knowledge that will enhance the future possibilities of its pupils for a successful career but also a veritable cradle of friendship and untrammeled collaboration between the Albanian and the Greek people.
And this friendship and collaboration are more than obvious among the mixed teaching staff. The headmistress ― a well-respected academic ― is a Greek national, and she is seconded by a very skillful schoolmistress of Albanian origin. The teachers responsible for the Albanian courses are all Albanian nationals with degrees that comply with Albanian legislation and they have been hired after careful and detailed evaluation, while those responsible for the Greek courses are Greek nationals with degrees from Greek universities.

ImageThe Arsakeion College follows the time schedule and educational program of the rest of the Albanian schools, but there are extra courses in which  Greek is taught as a second language, as well as several others ― literature, European civilization, democracy, geography, computer science and technology ― that have been adopted from the Greek educational program. The books pertaining to these courses are the same as those used in the Greek schools. Filekpaideftiki Etaireia supplements these with its own publications of corpora and reference books, providing its pupils with an even richer source of knowledge.

Every year Filekpaideftiki Etaireia organizes and hosts a visit to Greece for the pupils of the Arsakeion College, giving them a unique opportunity not only to view the classical sites but also to acquire a greater insight into Greek history and culture by attending special educational programs in museums and elsewhere ― an experience that prompts them to undertake further research in these fields.

Contact with other educational bodies has always been one of the priorities of the Arsakeion College. And to this end it is a fervent advocate of the ‘school fraternization’ institution, forging bonds of friendship with schools in remote areas, as well as with schools in Greece and the rest of the world ― bonds which are strengthened by exchanging hospitality and by joint cultural and athletic events.

Following the tradition established by the other Arsakeion schools and in order to broaden its pupils’ experience, the Arsakeion College organizes every year, with notable success, several cultural events ― exhibitions, conferences, symposia, seminars, lectures, tribute-paying to distinguished artists and writers ― in association with various cultural centers in Greece and other countries. Special attention is given to the celebration of the national days of both countries, as well as Christmas festivities and Mother’s Day, the organization of which is undertaken ― in an atmosphere of joyous creativity ― by the pupils themselves with the aid of their teachers.

As in all the other Arsakeion schools, the students are encouraged to form and to participate in societies and fraternities ― foreign languages, athletics, drama, music, the performing arts, the art of communication (orators’ society and journalism), astronomy, meteorology, the natural sciences, informatics, biology, the environment, mathematics, chess and creative thinking ― after school hours, the particular aim of these societies being to provide the students with fruitful albeit entertaining ways to spend their free time, to help them develop their skills and talents and to promote social contact and teamwork. The latter is nowhere more apparent than in the editing and presentation of several stylish publications ― journals, albums, Christmas cards, collections of essays, etc ― which are produced by the students in cooperation with the teaching staff and reveal the multitask activities of the school and its highly organized structure.
The Arsakeion College, by treating the national and cultural traditions of Albania with great respect, has achieved their harmonious coexistence with the Greek culture, making its pupils and their families more Europe-oriented, in the best interests of both their country and SE Europe in general.