Published : 15-04-2021
Refugee Support Aegean (RSA), a non-profit organisation, published a report tracking the different levels of barriers to education through the eyes of refugee children, their parents and education professionals across Greek islands.
RSA said the exclusion of refugee children from the education system has reached record levels. Statistics demonstrate a sharp and rapid drop in enrolments of refugee children in public schools over the past two years, from 12,867 in June 2019 to 8,637 in March 2021.
The report analyses a series of deficiencies in the implementation of the education framework leading to exclusion ranging from delays in the establishment of classes and recruitment of teaching staff, to unavailable or insufficient transport services.
Refugee children’s access to education is marred by aggravating factors stemming from broader deficiencies in the Greek asylum system, including barriers in the asylum procedure and precarious living conditions.
The insistence on the part of the Greek government and the EU Commission
on large-scale camp facilities for the reception of asylum seekers located far from urban centres corroborates fears of further exclusion and segregation, added RSA.
AGPS continues to urge the Greek authorities and all concerned bodies to ensure smooth and uninterrupted access of refugee children to the public education system through prompt establishment of the required classes, recruitment of teaching staff and transport arrangements.
Refugee Support Aegean (RSA), a non-profit organisation, published a report tracking the different levels of barriers to education through the eyes of refugee children, their parents and education professionals across Greek islands.
RSA said the exclusion of refugee children from the education system has reached record levels. Statistics demonstrate a sharp and rapid drop in enrolments of refugee children in public schools over the past two years, from 12,867 in June 2019 to 8,637 in March 2021.
The report analyses a series of deficiencies in the implementation of the education framework leading to exclusion ranging from delays in the establishment of classes and recruitment of teaching staff, to unavailable or insufficient transport services.
Refugee children’s access to education is marred by aggravating factors stemming from broader deficiencies in the Greek asylum system, including barriers in the asylum procedure and precarious living conditions.
The insistence on the part of the Greek government and the EU Commission
on large-scale camp facilities for the reception of asylum seekers located far from urban centres corroborates fears of further exclusion and segregation, added RSA.
AGPS continues to urge the Greek authorities and all concerned bodies to ensure smooth and uninterrupted access of refugee children to the public education system through prompt establishment of the required classes, recruitment of teaching staff and transport arrangements.
