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.”1084 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,1085 while by the end of 2024 the number of unaccompanied and separated children in the country was 2,414. 1086 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.1087 Findings of a GCR and Save the Children joint report show that levels of access to education for asylumseeking-children depend on their location and reception structure,1088 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 Educators1089 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.1090 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.1091 1084 1085 1086 1087 1088 1089 1090 1091 Save the Children, Hope and Harm: Children’s Experiences of Seeking Safety in Europe, January 2024, available at: https://tinyurl.com/r2d2whe2, 21. UNICEF, Country Office Annual Report 2023 - Greece, available at: https://bit.ly/4baeZiL, 2. Ministry of Migration and Asylum, see more here. Information provided by the Independent Department for the Coordination and Monitoring of Refugee Education of the Ministry of Education on 28 January 2026. 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. Foster Educators, School attendance of unaccompanied refugee minors during the 2023-24 school year, October 2024, available in Greek here. Ibid. Ibid. 223