"All children in education"

The flagship programme that sent over 25,000 refugee children to the classroom

18 May 2024
From left to right: L-R: Iraklis Moskov - Secretary General for Vulnerable Citizens and Institutional Protection, Sophia Voultepsi - Deputy Minister for Migration & Asylum, Ghassan Khalil - Representative of UNICEF in Greece, Mary Panoussi - Head of Press and Communication of the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DGHOME) of the European Commission in Athens.
UNICEF/Greece/Pantelia
L-R: Iraklis Moskov - Secretary General for Vulnerable Citizens and Institutional Protection, Sophia Voultepsi - Deputy Minister for Migration & Asylum, Ghassan Khalil - Representative of UNICEF in Greece, Mary Panoussi - Head of Press and Communication of the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DGHOME) of the European Commission in Athens.

ΑΤΗΕΝS 18 MAY 2024 An assessment with an eye to the future was held at the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, on Friday 17 May. The "numbers of hope" speak for themselves:

  • The  “All Children in Education”  (ACE) programme has benefited 25,366 refugee and migrant students since 2021 to date, receiving language and homework support in 40 locations across the country. Among them, 5,982 unaccompanied or separated minors and 273 children with disabilities.
  • The programme has acted as a real "bridge" between non-formal and formal education, which in addition prevents school drop-out: 75% of ACE students have enrolled and remained in the Greek public school.
  • Alongside non-formal education, 8,322 ACE children have been supported with structured psychosocial support activities, 532 have been referred to specialized services, 4,642 children have been supported to enroll in public school, 379 schools have received support through interpretation services.
  •  Moreover, through the programme, a series of teaching and learning materials, including an Accelerated Learning Programme, have been developed and are currently accessible for use in schools as educational material for secondary education students with a refugee or migrant background, as well as children with disabilities and special educational needs.
  •  In addition, more than 5,000 teachers were trained in the methodologies and pedagogy of inclusive education through Teach4Integration - a 400-hour certified capacity building programme, implemented in cooperation with the Institute of Education Policy of the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports.

These achievements and lessons learned from the three-year implementation of the "All Children in Education" programme, which was an initiative of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, co-funded by the European Union and implemented by UNICEF in collaboration with a number of NGOs and academic partners, were celebrated at a joint event co-organised  on Friday, May 17, by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum and the UNICEF Office in Greece, in the presence of delegations from other partner Ministries, European Commission officials, representatives of implementing partners, academics, and many children participating in ACE, at the Ministry’s events hall.

“When I signed the Memorandum of Understanding with UNICEF in 2021 allowing Open Accommodation Sites to host non-formal education and recreational activities, my thoughts focused on the integration prospects we could offer to refugee and migrant children across the country. Today, the evaluation of the results of the “All Children in Education” programme has led us to a conclusion which will constitute a legacy for the long-term country policy regarding refugees: we have decided to establish teaching the Greek language as well as the principles of the European way of life, to the children and families of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers who are in the country, a horizontal action which will cover the total population of children aged 4-17 years old, hosted in our facilities” noted Deputy Minister of Migration and Asylum, Ms. Sofia Voultepsi during her opening remarks.

Information and Communication Officer of the Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs of the European Commission in Athens, Ms. Mary Panousi, representing the EU delegation, stated: "The European Commission underscores the crucial importance of the Greek authorities continuing the “All Children in Education” programme to sustain the progress made in integrating and educating migrant and refugee children in Greece over the past three years. Thus, we call on the relevant Ministries to collaborate closely to ensure these vital efforts endure."

The ACE programme has been a milestone for the education of refugee and migrant children in Greece, operating at scale and introducing innovative methods for teaching and learning, promoting inclusion and, ultimately, the integration of children in the classrooms. Thanks to the efforts, commitment and dedication of the government of Greece, ACE serves as a stellar model for children’s education, providing a blueprint for policies and actions in the future, setting a very successful example of the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the context of children’s universal right to education. This would not have been made possible without our implementing partners, academia, the EU, the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, the Institute of Education Policy, and, first and foremost, the Ministry of Migration and Asylum which initiated this effort” noted Dr. Ghassan Khalil, UNICEF Representative in Greece.

Following opening remarks from officials, a panel discussion facilitated by UNICEF’s Deputy Representative, Aspa Plakantonaki hosted senior delegations of ACE implementing partners (ARSIS, DRC, ELIX, METAdrasi, Solidarity Now, Junior Achievement) as well as academic partners (National Kapodistrian University of Athens, University of Aristotle Thessaloniki, University of Thessaly and University of Patras), allowing them to share their views on the impact of the programme on children as well as the overall Greek educational system, lessons learned, best practices and proposals for the sustainability of the achieved results in the future.

Finally, in a panel moderated by Gelly Aroni, Head of the Integration and Support Unit of Unaccompanied Minors, General Secretariat of Vulnerable Citizens and Institutional Protection, of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, educators and teenage children beneficiaries of the programme, exchanged experiences regarding their learning processes, the importance of education as a valuable tool for community integration, as well as the empowering influence that education has on children across the board.

Following the conclusion of ACE under UNICEF’s direct management with EU co-funding, a handover process has been initiated with the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, with the Ministry firmly confirming their commitment to assume and continue the supervision of non-formal education services provided in open accommodation sites and reception and identification centers for asylum-seeking children.

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Danai Leivada
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