Author
According to Article 55 of the Asylum Code, asylum-seeking children are required to attend primary and secondary public school under similar conditions as Greek nationals. Children from the age of four are also required to attend pre-primary school. Compulsory education includes pre-primary, primary and lower secondary education. Pre-primary (Nipiagogio) lasts two years, primary education (Dimotiko) lasts six years and lower secondary education (Gymnasio) lasts three years.[1] The majority of children continue to upper secondary (Lyceum) that last three years.[2] Children applicants of international protection are obliged to attend school and competent authorities are obliged to provide the necessary and adequate means to support and facilitate the relevant procedure. Before the age of 4, children can also attend infant centres (vrefonipiakos stathmos from 6 months old) and child centres (paidikos stathmos – from 2 1/2 years old) run by private entities and the municipalities.[3]
The Asylum Code does not mention education as a right but as an obligation. Registering children at school is possible even in case of incomplete documentation, as long as no removal measure against minors or their parents is actually enforced. Access to secondary education shall not be withheld for the sole reason that the child has reached the age of maturity. Registration is to take place no longer than 3 months from the identification of the child, while non-compliance on behalf of the applicants, on account of a potential “unwillingness to be included in the education system” is subject to the reduction of material reception conditions and to the imposition of the administrative sanctions foreseen for Greek citizens to the adult members of the minor’s family.[4]
Joint Ministerial Decision139654/ΓΔ4 (Β’ 2985/30.08.2017) regulates a programme of afternoon preparatory classes (Reception School Facilities for Refugee Education – DYEP classes / Δομές Υποδοχής και Εκπαίδευσης Προσφύγων – ΔΥΕΠ) for all school-aged children aged 4 to 15.[5] The programme is implemented in public schools neighbouring camps or places of residence. The organisation, operation, coordination and training program of DYEP classes is supervised by the Refugee Education Management, Coordination and Monitoring Team, as defined by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Education, in cooperation with the competent Directorates of the Ministry of Education, the competent Regional Directorates of Education and the competent Directorates of Primary and Secondary Education.[6]
The location and operationalisation of the afternoon preparatory classes is subject to the yearly issuance of a Decision by the Deputy Minister of Education. Such decisions have been respectively issued for each school year up to the current school year 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 [7]
Children aged between 6-15 years, living in dispersed urban settings (such as squats, apartments, hotels, and reception centres for asylum applicants and unaccompanied children), may go to schools near their place of residence, to enrol in the morning classes alongside Greek children, at schools that will be identified by the Ministry. This is done with the aim of ensuring a balanced distribution of children across selected schools, as well as across preparatory classes for migrant and refugee children where Greek is taught as a second language.[8]
Although the refugee education programme implemented by the Ministry of Education is highly welcome, the school attendance rate should be reinforced, while special action should be taken in order for children remaining on the islands and in remote camps to be guaranteed access to education. Language is also a barrier for refugee and asylum-seeking children to integrate into school. The creation of reception classes is foreseen by law, but in practice, these classes do not always start on time due to understaffing or to their insufficient number, leading children who do not understand Greek to be practically excluded from the educational system, because they encounter great difficulties to understand the subjects taught. In a Save the Children report published in January 2024, children in Greece stated: “We go every day. But we do not learn because we do not understand a thing. There is no Greek lesson for the moment.” “We stay separate from other children, because we do not yet speak the language.”[9]
According to UNICEF’s Annual Report on Greece for 2023, it was estimated that by October 2023, there were 25,000 refugee and migrant children in Greece, including 7,000 children from Ukraine,[10] while by the end of 2024 the number of unaccompanied and separated children in the country was 2,414.[11]
Based on the latest available uinformation, during the 2024-2025 school year, a total of 17,195 third country national children were enrolled to the publis system of education, of which 15,538 were reported as active, highlighting a potential drop-out rate of close ot 10%. The majority of those enrolled were from Egypt (19%), Ukraine (13%), India (13%), Syria (12%) and Afghanistan (10%), with the public shoocl system accommodating more than 70 different natinoalities. The majority of those enrolled were attending primary school (669), followed by secondary education (419) and technical education (283). For the coordination of the education of refugee students, 120 Refugee Education Coordinators (RECs) were appointed.[12]
Findings of a GCR and Save the Children joint report show that levels of access to education for asylum-seeking-children depend on their location and reception structure,[13] as discrepancies in reception conditions at the facilities is a rule, e.g., many camps are in remote areas with poor transport connections. GCR represented the case of children accommodated in Sindiki facility (CAFTAAS) in Northern Greece who were not attending school – even if enrolled – from the beginning of the school year 2023-2024 due to lack of transportation. GCR made an intervention towards the competent authorities and the Ombudsperson for the Rights of the Child and only at the beginning of March 2024 was the issue of transportation finally resolved.
Regarding unaccompanied children specifically, a study on school attendance conducted by Foster Educators[14] during the 2023-2024 school year, found that almost all unaccompanied children were, in fact, not attending school, even if they were enrolled. More specifically, this study collected data from 2.283 children, residing in 39 accommodation shelters and shows huge dropout rates: 12 out of 13 unaccompanied children are out of school. According to the results of this survey, most unaccompanied children are formally enrolled in schools, but the vast majority of those enrolled in secondary school do not actually attend school or drop out. The highest rate of early school leaving is recorded in lower secondary education (“gymnasium”) that is part of the compulsory education in Greece. According to the same findings, very few unaccompanied children reach the end of the school year with adequate attendance and few absences. In primary schools there is less mobility and school drop-outs and better school integration.[15]
Factors such as the mobility or short stay of children in the accommodation structures, the refusal of schools to enrol children because of their arrival in the accommodation facility at the end of the school year (after March), the limited school capacity when the maximum number of students is enrolled and the lack of reception classes (i.e., supportive classes -running in parallel with the regular classes- with the aim to help children who lack the necessary knowledge of Greek to better integrate the regular classes), when the deadline for their creation has passed or when the prescribed minimum number of 7 students is not met, are some of the obstacles children face when it comes to educational integration.[16]
Moreover, according to the study of the Foster Educators, schools’ inability to create an efficient and attractive integration environment for refugee and migrant children, the administrative weaknesses of the accommodation structures, the deficits in personnel, material resources and educational know-how of both schools and accommodation structures and mobility are the main reasons for dropout.[17] In particular, regarding mobility of children and their families from one accommodation place to another (i.e. due to administrative procedures regarding their asylum or due to camps’ closure), a dramatic increase (almost doubled) was observed compared to last year, mainly in the mobility of unaccompanied children.[18]
Three years of schooling is one of the perquisites of a special 10-year residence permit given to ex-UAMs –who have reached adulthood. According to the new provision of Article 161 para 1c΄ of L 5038/1.4.2023 (Migration Code):[19] “Third country nationals residing in the country are granted a ten-year residence permit, which grants the right to full access to the labor market, provided that: […] c) are adult third country nationals or stateless persons who entered Greece as unaccompanied minors and have successfully completed at least three (3) classes of secondary education in a Greek school in Greece before reaching the age of twenty-three”. Only evidence of successful completion -and therefore promotion- to the next class are accepted, and not simple attestations of attendance (Circular no 17314 of 12 January 2024).
Although in law, this has been a long-expected regulation addressing a serious protection gap for asylum seeking youngsters,[20] three years of schooling before the age of twenty-three is problematic. In particular, as mentioned above, inadequate staffing, reception classes that start months after the beginning of the school year, lack of tailored vocational education options are some of the factors that hinder the harmonious integration of UAMs in school and lead to their early dropout. As long as a transitory residence permit, covering the legality of stay for children turning 18 is not institutionalised, the new provision of the Migration Code (Article 161 para 1c΄ of L 5038/1.4.2023) for the grant of a 10-year residence permit will not be applicable and will remain void.
GCR has also observed – mainly through its intercultural centre PYXIDA – that attendance seemed to have decreased during the school year 2022-2023, mainly due to the closure of ESTIA accommodation program, which led to the removal of families and their children from the center of Athens and their confinement in camps away from the city. As a result, children had to start from zero in remote areas under harsh living conditions and with very limited possibilities of accessing school. In their letter to the authorities in May 2023, 32 Refugee Education Coordinators condemned the very poor living conditions of asylum applicants in the accommodation structures in Greece and in the new –prison-like- Closed Controlled Access Centres (CCACs), which are an obstacle to children’s access to public education due to the distance of the structures from schools, thus the drastic limitation of the communication of the children with their peers outside the structure, the impossibility for them to participate in social activities and the suffocating situation for the development and inclusion of children.[21]
Regarding adequate staffing and timely scheduling of reception classes, it seems that the same problems remain, meaning the significant delays and insufficient number of teachers recruited in staffing reception and DYEP classes. In particular, according to the above-mentioned study of Foster Educators, the majority of the supportive reception classes -mainly for Greek language- started in November 2022, with schools even starting reception classes in February, March or even April 2023, with a number of them stopping very early (February or March) due to teacher transfers or placements.[22]
Moreover, regarding the inclusiveness of education, UNICEF’s project All Children in Education (ACE) came to an end in June 2024, leaving a gap for school-aged children in the reception facilities. This project aimed to facilitate the integration of refugee and migrant children in formal education through non-formal education services, such as interpretation services in schools, Greek language courses, psychosocial support for students and teachers’ empowerment. At the time of writing (January 2025) there is no state-run project to holistically facilitate educational integration of child applicants, caring also for their families. According to field qualitative research of GCR and Save the Children, most of the interviewees (children, caregivers and experts) shared that extracurricular activities are indispensable “breathers” for children in a camp setting.[23]
Regarding adult education and training, after the age of 18, asylum applicants and refugees may attend several educational programs run by state or private agencies, NGOs and other organisations, such as Second Chance schools (for adults who have not completed mandatory education) and centres for Lifelong Learning operate in municipalities. Adult asylum applicants who have graduated from secondary education may participate in examinations to enter Universities or Higher Technological Institution or register in the Institutes of Vocational Training (SAEK/ΣΑΕΚ in Greek).[24]
Yet, a significant obstacle hindering asylum seekers in their efforts to continue their studies or upskill to match employment needs is the practical difficulty or actual impossibility to prove and recognise existing education and training qualifications. Due to the circumstances forcing them to leave their homes, many do not have their original diplomas of study or other relevant certification,[25] while in GCR’s experience, they cannot even issue copies of them in Greece, despite the European Qualification Passport for Refugees (EQPR), which could be used to recognise studies from third countries outside the EU.
[1] Article 88 of L 4871/2021, which modified Article 2 of L 1566/1985.
[2] This upper secondary education cycle consists of the general or vocational upper secondary lycea (GEL/EPAL), see more at Eyridice, available here.
[3] UNHCR, Help Greece – Access to Education, available at: https://tinyurl.com/yc8rjwrc.
[4] Article 55(2) of L 4939/2022.
[5] Joint Ministerial Decision139654/ΓΔ4 (Β’ 2985/30.08.2017), available in Greek here.
[6] Article 1 par. 4 of JMD 139654/ΓΔ4 (Β’ 2985/30.08.2017).
[7] For the current school year, see Ministerial Decision Φ1/66634/ΚΓ/Δ1/2024 and Φ1/74878/ΚΓ/ΓΔ4/2025 available in Greek here and https://tinyurl.com/hwthzurv
[8] Refugee Info Greece, School program for kids 6 to 15, last updated on 28 March 2024, available at: https://bit.ly/3xUbn6o.
[9] Save the Children, Hope and Harm: Children’s Experiences of Seeking Safety in Europe, January 2024, available at: https://tinyurl.com/r2d2whe2, 21.
[10] UNICEF, Country Office Annual Report 2023 – Greece, available at: https://bit.ly/4baeZiL, 2.
[11] Ministry of Migration and Asylum, see more here.
[12] Information provided by the Independent Department for the Coordination and Monitoring of Refugee Education of the Ministry of Education on 28 January 2026.
[13] GCR and Save the Children, “It does not feel like real life”: children’s everyday life in Greek refugee camps, December 2024, available here, pp 24-25.
[14] Foster Educators, School attendance of unaccompanied refugee minors during the 2023-24 school year, October 2024, available in Greek here.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Ibid. pp. 38-39.
[18] Foster Educators, School attendance of unaccompanied refugee minors during the 2022-23 school year, December 2023, available in Greek at: https://tinyurl.com/2k5xepn2, pp. 26, 51-52.
[19] L 5038/2023 enters into force the 31 March 2024, except for –among others- paragraph 1c of Article 161, which enters into force on 1st April 2023 (according to Article 179 para 2c). For the application of said provision of Article 1c of the Migration Code and the required documents relative is Article 1 para Z4 of JMD 30825/2014, as amended by JMD 378422/16.8.2023. In reality, the application of the provision for the 10-year residence permit was not functional at least until the beginning of 2024 due to different obstacles (administrative deficiencies of the online system of MoMA, issuance of explanatory circulars). It remains to be seen how this new provision will be applied in practice.
[20] See joint Press Release of 14 NGOs, members of Child Rights Advocacy Network (CRAN), December 2022, available in Greek here.
[21] Alfavita, Εκπαίδευση προσφυγόπουλων: SOS από Συντονιστές εκπαίδευσης για κλειστές δομές – ‘ανοικτές φυλακές’, 15 May 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/4aR2vgh.
[22] FOSTER EDUCATORS, School attendance of unaccompanied refugee minors during the 2022-23 school year (in greek -Η σχολική φοίτηση των ασυνόδευτων ανήλικων προσφύγων κατά το σχολικό έτος 2022-23), December 2023, p. 46, available in Greek at: here.
[23] See GCR and Save the Children, “It does not feel like real life”: children’s everyday life in Greek refugee camps, December 2024, available here, p.27.
[24] UNHCR, Help Greece – Access to Education, available at: https://tinyurl.com/yc8rjwrc.
[25] For instance, as per the aforementioned ongoing survey carried out under the auspices of UNHCR between February 2022 and March 2024, 44% of applicants (registered or pending registration) who had an undergraduate or higher degree of education, did not have original copies with them. UNHCR, Inter-Agency Protection Monitoring for Refugees in Greece: Key findings, available at: https://tinyurl.com/3z6t3y9f.