An initiative by the Greek Ministry of Education, Research & Religious Affairs to facilitate the integration of refugee children into education, in order to contribute to their wider social integration in Greece.
Project Goal
Issues / challenges:
- Upon the closure of the Greek border and the EU-Turkey agreement in March 2016, some 60 000 refugees were trapped in Greece and a strategy was needed for their management, protection and integration.
- According to the Ministry of Education the total refugee population included approximately 20 000 children, 8 000 of whom were living in official Refugee Accommodation Centres (RACs) with a further 8 000 living in UNHCR accommodation. Approximately 1 300 unaccompanied minors were under the care of state social services. UNICEF estimated that the remaining 2000 were being hosted by locals or living with their families in unofficial facilities.
- People's complicated journeys to Europe, as well as the situations in their home countries, meant that upon arriving in Greece many children had already missed out on several months - or years - of education.
Goals / Assumptions:
- From June 2016 an administrative and coordination mechanism would be established at the Ministry of Education, with the formation of the Working Group on the Management, Coordination and Monitoring of Refugee Children (hereinafter, “Management Group”).
- 62 Refugee Education Coordinators (RECs) would be appointed in all RACs. These RECs were responsible for the education of refugee children.
- As a result of better coordination and more resources, there would be significant improvements to education and integration for refugee children.
Who benefits
Approximately 3000 school-age refugee children and their families, as well as Greek society as a whole in the long term.
How it works
Three committees for the support of refugee children were established:
- Committee for the Support of Refugee Children;
- Scientific Committee;
- Arts Committee.
The school year 2016-2017 was designated the 'pre-integration' or 'transition' year. The main educational activities in this time were designed and delivered as follows:
- In the summer months of 2016, in the run up to the start of the school year, preparatory and creative activities were carried out at RACs. These actions were intended to gradually accustom children to a normal schooling environment;
- Activities were planned differently according to different age groups and regions;
- Specific classes were held in RACs to gradually prepare 7-15 year-olds for official schooling and their integration into the Greek educational system;
- Varied educational actions were designed according to the needs of teenagers;
- Greek lessons were given to children and adults (inside and outside camps as well as via e-learning), by individual volunteers, international organisations and national or local institutions;
- Sports activities and cultural workshops were made available to all ages, often in conjunction with local universities;
- Special attention was paid to designing appropriate curriculums, providing adequate teaching materials and teacher training, connecting schools with local communities and the social integration of refugee families beyond the school environment.
- Particular attention was also given to ensuring that children kept up the learning of their mother tongue, and that they had the opportunity to learn other European languages (eg. English or German), because of the likelihood that they would eventually be granted asylum elsewhere.
Results
Positive results
- Until April 2017, 111 Reception Facilities for Refugee Education (RFREs) were in operation for schoolchildren aged 7-15.
- These RFREs served 37 RACs in all regions of the country, apart from the islands.
- 145 classes were run on a regular basis across all regions.
- Vaccinations were effectively delivered to children via a small, flexible taskforce in the RFREs under the supervision of the relevant departments of the Ministry of Health, the HCDCP and the National Vaccine Commission.
Negative results
- No kindergartens were operated in the RACs.
- Numerous children stranded in the Aegean islands with their parents were unable to access formal education.
- The law that would have permitted reception /transition classes to be run in junior high schools was never activated, meaning that children living outside RACs were never taught the Greek language and as a result could not enrol in official schooling.
- No successful method was found of matching foreign qualifications with Greek education levels, and as a result children over the age of 15 struggled to enrol in senior high schools or vocational schools.
Evaluation
The 'Evaluation Report for the Integration of Refugee Children in Education' was published in 2017, including an overall evaluation of the project and related proposals for further actions.
Furthermore, the implementation of this first pre-integration year of the refugee education project is summarised in the 'Mechanism for monitoring the rights of children moving to Greece, July - December 2016' report, produced by the Ombudsman for Children in cooperation with UNICEF. This report said:
"Children's access to education was designed in a timely manner and on the basis of specific planning, but its implementation has encountered many difficulties in practice, resulting in delays in the launching, or in some cases in the closure, of the envisaged Reception Facilities for Refugee Education (RFRE). Concerning the integration of children in the early morning reception zone, further problems arose which related to, among other things, the need to respond to increased integration demands due to the presence of a significant number of children in urban areas as a result of unscheduled transfers from the Reception Accommodation Centers where they previously resided."
It was concluded that fewer problems arise in schools where:
- there are teachers with prior experience of teaching Greek as a second language;
- an atmosphere of community is created at school among teachers, and there is positive connection and communication between RFREs and those involved in the education programme. It was observed that in many cases such connections were never made.
- a close group mentality is created among the children. Naturally, this is rather difficult to achieve when classroom composition is fluid, due to student dropouts and irregular attendance, however where it is achieved integration has been assessed to be more successful.
Overall, the social and political goal of moving refugee children out of camps, returning them to 'normality', integrating them into schooling contexts and making them more visible and active in Greek society was achieved through this project.
These achievements in the field of education are very important given the limited opportunity for social integration in Greek society more widely. They have also become a starting point for greater acceptance and acknowledgement of the rights of refugees and asylum seekers in both Greek and European societies.
Funding and resources
- European Asylum, Immigration and Integration Fund (AMIF);
- The European Commission’s Directorate General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) funded the transportation of children between accommodation sites and the schools (this funding was secured by the International Organisation for Migration).
About this good practice
- Project dates
- -
- Geographic area
- Greece
- City
- Mainland Greece
- Organisation
- Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs
- Contact person
- Prof. Lina Ventoura
- Position
- President of the Scientific Committee as regards to the Refugee Education Project
Details
- Posted by