Refugee Education Project
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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION RESEARCH & RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS Scientific Committee in Support of Refugee Children Refugee Education Project Α. Assessment Report on the Integration Project of Refugee Children in Education (March 2016‐April 2017) Β. Proposals for the Education of Refugee Children during the 2017‐2018 School Year Athens, April 2017 Cover photo: Event organized by the Municipality of Haidari at the Skaramagas Reception Accommodation Center for Refugee Children 2 Refugee Education Project‐Scientific Committee of the Ministry of Education Research and Religious Affairs‐April 2017 Refugee Education Project Table of contents Introduction ............................................................................................................... 5 A. Assessment Report on the Integration Project of Refugee Children in Education (March 2016‐April 2017) ............................................................................................ 13 Ι. GENERAL INFORMATION....................................................................................... 13 1. Influx of refugees (August 2015‐March 2017) ........................................ 13 2. Refugee reception and accommodation ................................................. 14 3. The Situation on the Greek Islands ......................................................... 18 4. Quantitative data and statistics on refugee population (March 2016‐ March 2017) ...................................................................................................... 19 5. Quantitative data and statistics on the children of refugees (March 2016‐ March 2017) ..................................................................................................... 25 ΙΙ. EDUCATION ......................................................................................................... 33 1. ...... Proposal on the education of refugee children in 2016‐2017. Administrative and institutional issues. .................................................................................. 33 2. ...................... The operation of Reception Facilities for Refugee Education (RFRE) ...................................................................................................................... 37 2.1. Problems in the operation of RFREs ........................................................ 40 2.2. School Dropout Attendance at RFREs ....................................................... 42 2.3. The Role of Refugee Education Coordinators (RECs): Problems and good practices ........................................................................................................... 55 2.4. RFRE curriculum, educational material and teacher training ..................... 59 2.5. The kindergarten issue .............................................................................. 61 3. ................................................................................... Cooperation with Other Bodies ...................................................................................................................... 63 (Ministries , Municipalities, Ombudsman for Children, International Organizations, NGOs) ...................................................................................... 63 3.1. Cooperation with Jointly Responsible Ministries .................................... 63 3.2. Local Authorities ..................................................................................... 64 3.3. Ombudsman for Children ........................................................................ 64 3.4. International Organizations .................................................................... 64 3.5. Non‐Governmental Organizations (NGOs) ............................................. 67 4. Local communities and the education program of refugee children .............. 69 Conclusions .............................................................................................................. 71 Β. Proposals for the Education of Refugee Children in the 2017‐2018 School Year . 75 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 75 1. General objectives and principles ........................................................................ 80 2. Plans for the summer months (June‐August 2017) .............................................. 81 3. Scenarios for the 2017‐2018 school year ............................................................. 82 3.1. .... Scenarios for the education of children 5‐6 year‐olds (preschool education) ...................................................................................................................... 82 3 Refugee Education Project‐Scientific Committee of the Ministry of Education Research and Religious Affairs‐April 2017 3.2. Scenarios for the education of 7‐15 year‐old students (mandatory education) ...................................................................................................................... 83 3.3. Scenarios for children aged 15 or over (non‐mandatory secondary education: Senior High School ‐ Technical and Vocational Training, etc) ............................. 85 3.4. ...................................................... Scenarios for young people over the age of 18 ...................................................................................................................... 86 4. Sport activities, art activities and activities using technology for all phases and all ages .......................................................................................................................... 88 5. Training of teachers and education staff, and informing parents, etc ................. 89 6. Special Issue: Refugee Teachers .......................................................................... 90 7. Actions for the parents of refugee children ......................................................... 91 8. Certification issues ............................................................................................... 91 9. Administrative issues ........................................................................................... 91 10. Special issues ..................................................................................................... 92 List of sources ........................................................................................................ 101 ANNEX Ι. Legislative and administrative acts ......................................................... 103 ANNEX ΙΙ. List of operating RFREs (April 2017) ....................................................... 111 ANNEX ΙIΙ. Record of transportation services by local public transport from RACs to nearby schools ....................................................................................................... 116 Τhe translation of this document in English is kindly provided by UNICEF (Greece). The original document in Greek is available at https://www.minedu.gov.gr/publications/docs2017/16_06_17_Epistimoniki_Epitropi_Pr osfygon_YPPETH_Apotimisi_Protaseis_2016_2017_Final.pdf 4 Refugee Education Project‐Scientific Committee of the Ministry of Education Research and Religious Affairs‐April 2017 Introduction The right to education is a fundamental human right which is respected, protected and promoted by the Greek state. In line with European and national law, every child has the right to education and, most importantly, any refugee child. Safeguarding the right of young refugees entering the country to education has been a key concern of the Ministry of Education since the beginning of 2016. This highly demanding project was designed under time pressure conditions and is being implemented in a highly fluid environment on a refugee population that is both heterogeneous in terms of its characteristics and unstable in terms of refugee population numbers, their location and their living conditions in the country. Refugees have come from a variety of warring countries, and have experienced very hard circumstances in their majority, but they do not make up a homogeneous group; these people are individuals of various nationalities with different social and cultural characteristics and different economic and cultural capital. In addition, after the closure of the borders and the agreement between the EU and Turkey, both the legal status and the prospects of resettlement in different countries began to change for the various groups of refugees who are located in mainland Greece and the islands. Finally, refugees' living conditions also show great variations depending on the Accommodation Center and the region in which they were found. In addition, these parameters constantly change over time when refugees move from place to place and from a Reception Accommodation Center (RAC) to other accommodation areas in apartments, hotels, etc. Within this constantly transforming environment, in March 2016, the Ministry of Education Research & Religious Affairs took the initiative to prepare a plan for the integration of refugee children into education in order to contribute to their wider social integration. On March 18, 2016, the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs through the Minister of Education established three committees for the support of refugee children pursuant to a Ministerial Decision (ΥΑ ΓΓ1/47079/Ministry of Education Research & Religious Affairs/18.03.16) reached by the Minister of Education, Mr Nikos Filios, as follows: The Committee for the Support