© UNHCR’s Xenia Passa delivers the donation of laptops to the Secretary-General of Primary, Secondary and Special Education of the Ministry of Education, Alexandros Koptsis, and the Head of the Independent Department for the Coordination and Monitoring of Refugees’ Education, Lemonia Mpoutskou.
In the context of the long-standing cooperation of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, with the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, 59 laptops were recently donated by UNHCR to reinforce the capacity of the country’s schools to provide education for all and promote the inclusion of refugee children in the public education system.
On the occasion of this donation, the Secretary-General of Primary, Secondary and Special Education of the Ministry of Education, Alexandros Koptsis, stressed the intensive efforts made by the Ministry as regards the enrolment and attendance of refugee children at schools.
For her part, the Head of the Independent Department for the Coordination and Monitoring of Refugees’ Education, Lemonia Mpoutskou, highlighted that the equipment will be given to primary and secondary schools in Attica, Evoia, and Epirus regions, which are attended by refugee children hosted at the accommodation sites of Malakasa, Ritsona, and Filippiada.
“We are trying, in the post-COVID era, to enhance the digital skills of refugee students and help them better integrate in the Greek educational system”, Ms. Mpoutskou said.
“Access of refugee children to the national education system of their host country as soon as possible is a key priority for UNHCR around the world,” noted Xenia Passa, focal point for education in UNHCR’s Protection Unit in Greece. “We are glad that this particular donation will reinforce the country’s schools and support access to learning for both refugee children and their local peers. The integration process of refugee children and their families happens through the school environment among others. All children belong in school and we should all contribute so that they remain at school and succeed in their studies, enabling them to contribute to the society that hosts them in a meaningful way.”
This donation by UNHCR is part of a series of donations of electronic and other equipment that has been carried out by the organization to meet educational needs. Since 2020, in cooperation with Regional Education Directorates and local authorities, some 130 schools across the country have been supported.
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