Teachers Association of Primary Education of Eastern Attica ” SOCRATES”

http://syllogos-socratis.gr/  mail: sokratis.syllogos@gmail.com

22/01/17

It is well known that among the thousands of uprooted people, as a result of the imperialist wars and military interventions in the Near East, 22,000 are children, according to the data supplied by the Greek Government. Consequently, the issue of the education of refugee children and their support is crucial.
On 19th September 2016, the government, in an effort to create a positive impression, announced the Creation of Spaces for the Hosting and Education of refugee children (DYEP) (Ministry of Education, Ministry of Development, Ministry of Immigration and Ministry of Health). The initial plan was 800 classes in 46 regions.
In the end, these spaces (D.Y.E.P. ) addressed only to a very small number of children. This number concerns less than 1,000 children. No D.Y.E.P. place is provided for children aged 4 to 6 in Greece. And for the children of the age of 13-15 not more than 3-5 spaces D.Y.E.P. are going to work
Also, several problems, associated with these spaces, are emerging, especially in regard to the sufficiency and the functioning of the school buildings. The Greek Government has not ensured for the municipalities the sum of money required for the daily cleaning of the schools and the basic feeding of the children.
We demand:
• Immediate operation of all Spaces of Hosting and Education of Refugee Children D.Y.E.P. (according to the original plan), under the aegis and exclusive responsibility of the State, so that all children can benefit from the educational process. This means operation everywhere:
A) initially, of the D.Y.E.P. , but also the integration of the children in the public school, which presupposes necessary measures to create adequate conditions, so that their integration is essential.
(B) permanent support programs, in which children will be engaged in various and creative activities, during the hours they are not in school or in the Hosting and Education Spaces. D.Y.E.P. These programs will be carried out in the place where the children live and under the responsibility of the Ministry of Education,
• That funding for the education of refugees be paid exclusively by the Greek Ministry of Education, in order to hire the necessary personnel to equip the hosting spaces D.Y.E.P. and the schools. This presupposes that the various non-governmental organizations (which try to make the maximum benefit) are excluded from European funding for refugees.
• That the Ministry of Health immediately take all necessary measures (medical exams, vaccinations, etc.) to ensure the access for all children to public schools.
All teachers and parents of schoolchildren who are designated to receive refugee children are called upon to support this effort, ignoring and despising any reactionary voice of xenophobia and racism.