{"id":30668,"date":"2021-03-09T15:47:56","date_gmt":"2021-03-09T13:47:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.arsis.gr\/?p=30668"},"modified":"2021-03-09T15:47:56","modified_gmt":"2021-03-09T13:47:56","slug":"open-letter-all-children-have-the-right-to-go-to-school-do-not-take-that-away-from-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arsis.gr\/en\/open-letter-all-children-have-the-right-to-go-to-school-do-not-take-that-away-from-them\/","title":{"rendered":"OPEN LETTER: \u201cALL CHILDREN HAVE THE RIGHT TO GO TO SCHOOL. DO NOT TAKE THAT AWAY FROM THEM\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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TO:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic, Kyriakos Mitsotakis<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Minister of Education and Religious Affairs of the Hellenic\nRepublic, Niki Kerameus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture,\nEducation and Youth, Mariya Gabriel <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The European Commissioner for Justice and Consumers, Didier Reynders<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Athens, March 9,\n2021 \u2013 The undersigned organisations express deep concern about the situation\nrelating to asylum seeking and refugee children\u2019s access to education in\nGreece over the past few years. Specifically, for the past six years it has not\nbeen possible to guarantee smooth and unimpeded access to education for asylum\nseeking children. As a result, the majority of these children have been\ndeprived of one of their fundamental rights. These issues have become so\nintense over the last year that one can in fact refer to an extensive process\nof \u201cdeschooling\u201d.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

In particular:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the islands\nwhere children stay in Reception and Identification Centres as well as in\nPre-removal Detention Centres for Foreigners, access to schools in the local\ncommunity is almost non-existent[1]<\/sup><\/a>. Moreover,\nserious delays and obstacles have been observed, resulting in a huge\ngap between the number of enrolled children and the children that actually\nattend school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, the situation\nis equally worrying in the refugee camps on the mainland. \u0399n some places the issues observed have to do\nwith inconsistent interpretation of COVID-19 related movement restriction\npolicies by the Greek authorities, which ends up discriminating against\nchildren who, as a result,\nare not being allowed to leave these camps. At the same\ntime, during the lockdowns, due to the lack of necessary technical\ninfrastructure for online learning at the camps, refugee and asylum seeking children\nare further excluded from the education process. \u039coreover, other issues have been observed in quite a few locations\nnationwide. These include the lack of transportation to schools; understaffing\nand malfunctioning of reception classes; an insufficient number of spots available at\nschools and kindergartens; problems resulting from unjustified behaviour by school\nadministrations\u2013but also by local communities\u2013 who are reacting against the\nprospect of refugee children attending public schools. All these issues are\ncompounded by the worrying absence of any concern by authorities to include these\nchildren in the educational process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several of the undersigned organisations presented the\nabove-mentioned issues to the competent ministries, via a private letter, on\n3\/2\/2021. In response to this letter, co-signing organisations were invited to\nan online meeting with the relevant authorities on 26\/2\/2021. We acknowledge\nand welcome the willingness of the authorities to launch a dialogue process\nwith civil society regarding the pressing issue of refugee education. Still, the\ncurrent situation, with its critical shortcomings, requires that immediate action\nis taken by the authorities so that not one more school day is missed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0391ccording to Greek\nand European law[2]<\/sup><\/a>,\neducation is provided free of charge and is compulsory for children aged 4 to\n15, including education intended for asylum seeking children. Articles 28 and\n29 of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has been\ntransposed into national law by the Hellenic Republic (Law 2101\/1992), foresee\nthat all children, without any exceptions, have equal rights to primary and\nsecondary education.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is vital that these children attend school because <\/a>it is their right, first and foremost. However, continuing education is\nalso an essential element to counteract some of the uncertainty\nand stress the COVID-19 pandemic has meant for children and their families.\nAdded to this most children have already missed precious time out of their\neducation as a result of conflict, insecurity or other conditions in their\ncountry of origin or countries of transit during their often-arduous journeys\nto reach Greece. School access is a decisive factor in guaranteeing an\norganised daily routine and a safe environment in which to learn and grow;\nfactors of vital importance for the mental health and personality development[3]<\/sup><\/a> of children but also for\nthe smooth operation of society as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For all the reasons outlined above, we call upon the Greek\ngovernment to take immediate action to guarantee equal, substantive, and\nquality education to children of all ages and nationalities residing both on\nthe islands and on the mainland.<\/strong> More specifically, we call upon the Greek\nauthorities to guarantee that:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n