total 13,617 children enrolled in mainstream public schools, 12,197 actually attended. 1117 Regarding the data on refugee reception (DYEP) evening classes in public schools the situation is worse, as there are 3,153 registered children with only 1,849 (58,6%)attending. For the coordination of the education of refugee students, 107 Refugee Education Coordinators (RECs) were appointed and 2,106 teachers were recruited for the Reception Classes and DYEPs. 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,1118 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 Educators1119 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.1120 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.1121 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. 1122 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.1123 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):1124 “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 1117 1118 1119 1120 1121 1122 1123 1124 Information provided by the Ministry of Education on 15 October 2024. 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. Ibid. pp. 38-39. 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. 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. 206