Refugee children reach 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)
to block the entrance of 41 refugee students to a primary school at the suburbs of Thessaloniki in northern Greece.
Another group protested outside a high school in central Athens which opened its gates to about 30 refugee children.
On Sunday another group of parents padlocked the entrance of a primary school on Lesvos island, while similar protests were reported ahead of the launch of the program in two other schools in the mainland.
A press release by the Greek branch of UNICEF warned that without education, a generation of children living in countries affected by conflict, natural disasters and extreme poverty will grow up without the necessary skills to contribute to their countries and their economies, making their plight even worse.
On average, according to humanitarian groups, children refugees stranded in Greece have been out of school for one-and-a half years or missed out entirely on education.
