Teachers and representatives of Greek parents' associations welcome refugee children at a public elementary school in central Athens, Greece, on Oct. 10, 2016. The first 1,500 refugee children started lessons in six camps and 20 public schools across Greece on Monday, amid mixed reactions by locals. (Xinhua/Lefteris Partsalis)
by Maria Spiliopoulou
ATHENS, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- The first 1,500 refugee children started lessons in six camps and 20 public schools across Greece on Monday, amid mixed reactions by locals.
In most cases, the children were welcomed with warm smiles, big hugs and pastries by their Greek classmates, teachers and parents' associations, according to an Education Ministry press statement.
However, there were also reported incidents of Greek parents who padlocked entrance gates to keep the refugee children away citing health reasons and lack of information by authorities, according to the Greek national news agency AMNA.
Under the pilot refugee schooling program launched on Monday, refugee children will initially attend afternoon classes and will be taught separately from Greek students the Greek language, math, arts, sports and other foreign languages, while they integrate.
According to authorities, about 20,000 children out of the more than 60,000 refugees and migrants currently stranded in Greece after the closure of borders last year, are eligible for the program.
By the end of October, more refugee students are expected to be enrolled in the school system once their vaccination is completed.
With the support of the Greek government and society, as well as international organizations, the overwhelming majority of refugee students returned to school in a positive climate.
At the 81st elementary school of Kato Petralona in Athens, for example, 30 children refugees from the camp of Eleonas, attended classes.
They were transported from the reception center by buses commissioned from the Greek chapter of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which has commissioned 12 buses nationwide and provided refugee children with a school kit.
The children will be taught by teachers paid by the Greek state, as well as volunteers, school officials told Xinhua. According to Education Ministry officials, another part of the cost for the program will be covered with European Union funding.
"We welcome the refugees' children to our schools. We embrace them. Education is a fundamental human right. We cannot accept any discrimination. Society must isolate xenophobic calls and show its solidarity with actions," a statement issued by the Union of Parents and Guardians Associations of schools of the Athens Municipality read.
The Education Ministry also downplayed as "isolated exceptions" incidents of parents who opposed the introduction of refugees in school, stressing that all kids who attended classes on Monday had been inoculated and that health concerns were unjustified.
About 30 parents waving Greek national flags tried