30-08-16 Ministry to cooperate with NGOs on programmes for refugee children

The general parameters and many details of the Education Ministry’s programme for the education of refugees’  children were  presented by the Ministry of Education, Research, And Religious Affairs General Secretary Yannis Pantis and competent ministry officials to the representatives of over 40 international organisations and NGOs (including UNICEF, the UNHCR, DOM, the Greek Red Cross, the Network for Children’s Rights, SOS Children’s Villages, the Open Cultural Center, Save the Children, ECHO, IRC (International Rescue Committee), Organization Earth, the Greek Council for Refugees (Pyxida), METAdrasi, the ANTIGONI Center, IHA, NRC, Apostoli, the Open School for Migrants, and ELIX, which are all active in Greece.

The aim of the Education Ministry is to secure psychosocial support and education for the children of refugees, as well as the smooth integration in the Greek educational system of those who will remain in Greece, following a preparatory, transitional period.

At the meeting, the ministry made it clear that the educational programme is designed for all children of refugees, without distinction. In the first phase of the programme, the focus will be on the levels of mandatory education, from kindergarten through junior high school (gymnasio).

The educational planning of the ministry is tailored to the age groups of the children. For children between 4-7 years old, kindergarten subsidiaries will be established within the refugee reception centres. Children between 7-15 years of age will be inducted in reception classes at neighbouring public schools, where they will be taught Greek as a second language.

At the meeting it was made clear that the Education Ministry has exclusive authority over designing and implementing formal educational programmes.  It was underlined that NGOs canconduct informal educational programmes on days and hours that do not coincide with the schedules of kindergartens and reception centres, but only after they obtain certification from the Greek Institute of Educational Policy (IEP).

The Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs believes that NGOs can play a significant role in areas such as providing material-technical infrastructure, offering professional and technical training and adult education, organising lessons in the children’s native languages (Arabic, Farsi, etc.), and in bolstering the number of cultural mediators at reception centres and at educational facilities for refugees.

Ministry General Secretary Pantis invited the representatives of NGOs to submit over the next few days their proposals for the educational programmes they are planning, in order to agree to and sign relevant memorandums of cooperation.

The representatives of international organisations and NGOs expressed their support for the Education Ministry’s plans and agreed to cooperate with the ministry in order to handled in the best possible manner any problems or challenges that may arise.