ATHENS — Education Minister Niki Kerameus highlighted the contribution of Greece's private sector in the country's response to the coronavirus pandemic and to helping set up distance learning during lockdown, in an interview with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA) released on Monday.

"The private sector contributed to the ministry's efforts, proving in practice the important contribution of corporate social responsibility, especially during crises," she said.

According to Kerameus, the private sector contributed "decisively and in multiple ways," providing free services and equipment. Among them, mobile phone providers that gave free internet access with no data charges (zero rating) to the ministry's digital platforms for distance learning, or private donors that supplied tablets and laptops to Greek schools around the country. Thirdly, a private company provided a free digital platform that enabled modern distance learning lessons to take place.

The minister said the legacy of this collaboration with the private sector to modernise the ministry's educational structures and services led to the next step, which was investment in the digitalisation of education.

She also announced that the educational and digital policy ministries, Diofantos and the National Network of Technology and Research Infrastructure are already working on this next step, preparing a computing cloud at Diofantos that will be able to progressively cover all the distance learning activities of educational structures.

"In this context, partnership with the private sector is also being examined," Kerameus said.