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Education access and participation

in Greece

Participation in early childhood education for children 4 and 5 year old stood at 85.6 per cent in 2019 (below the EU average of 95.2 per cent).
In 2022, 10.6 per cent of youth (15 – 24 years old) were reported as NEET.
15 per cent of men and 11 per cent of women aged 15-24 are enrolled in vocational education and training (slightly lower than the OECD average of 19 per cent for men and 16 per cent for women) (2019).

Disability

During the 2019-2020 school year, 101,683 children with disabilities or special education needs were registered in public schools (31 per cent girls and 69 per cent boys) representing 7 per cent of the total student population.

Sub-national

People in rural areas between 18 and 24 years old are more likely to leave education and training earlier than their peers living in urban areas (3.2 per cent vs 4.6 per cent) (2022).

Other

According to the MoERAS, 17,134 children were enrolled during the school year 2022-2023.
66 per cent of Roma children from 4 to 15 years old attended compulsory education in 2021.
Roma children from 4 to 15 years old residing in settlements of type I, II and III have lower rates of enrolment (64 per cent) compared to children residing in scattered houses (73 per cent) (2021).
In 2021, 34 per cent of Roma children between 6 and 15 years old attended schools where all or most pupils were Roma.
20 per cent of Roma felt discriminated against because of being Roma when in contact with school authorities (as a parent/guardian or a student) in the past 12 months (2021) (EU - 10 countries - 11 per cent).
In 2022, the share of native-born early leavers from education and training aged 18-24 was 3.7 per cent while for those born outside the country it was 20.9 per cent.

Enabling Environment

Legislation, policy, resources, coordination, data

Lack of data on attendance and dropout rates of vulnerable groups (refugee and migrant children, Roma children, children with disabilities, out-of-school children) hamper planning and budgeting to effectively respond to the needs of these children.

38(b) Collect and analyze disaggregated data on school attendance and dropout, to inform its policies, programming and budgeting to effectively respond to the needs of these children.

Establish a monitoring system of attendance and drop-out rates for vulnerable groups of children.

Adequately staffed services, facilities, information, commodities

Negative stereotypes about marginalized groups, such as refugee, migrant or Roma children) may affect their meaningful participation and attendance in education.
The de facto segregation of Roma children in schools.
Racist or xenophobic attitudes from local communities towards refugee, migrant, and Roma children.
Some Roma communities, while they recognize the value of education, it is often restricted in traditional methods of learning (within family, work and kinship networks).
Traditional norms of Roma communities often affect the participation of girls in education.

38(a) Remove barriers to school enrolment and ensure that children with disabilities, Roma children, asylum-seeking and refugee children, unaccompanied migrant children, are promptly integrated into, retained and finish the mainstream preschool, primary and secondary education, regardless of their place of residence.
38(g) Address inequalities generated by the COVID-19 crisis during home schooling, including by ensuring the availability of computer equipment and sufficient Internet access, giving particular attention to children in vulnerable situations.
38(h) Allocate adequate financial, human and technical resources to expand the coverage, capacity and monitoring of pre-school education and ensure access thereto, including in rural and remote areas, for children with disabilities, Roma children, asylum-seeking and refugee children and unaccompanied children, and to ensure an adequate number of bilingual pre-schools in the Muslim minority in Thrace.

Address social perceptions and attitudes that prevent equitable, inclusive, and multicultural approaches to education.
Foster an inclusive school environment that promotes diversity, empathy, and understanding among students and staff.
Increase life-skills development, including inter-cultural communication, in schools curricula.