Concerns over success of Greek classes for migrant children

A programme for migrant and refugee students in state schools needs to be re-evaluated as it appears to be causing a host of problems, lawmakers said on Wednesday.

During a session at the House education committee, MPs voiced their concerns over the programme, which aims to teach migrant students the Greek language and help integrate them into the school and the country.

Implemented in a handful of schools, Akel MP Andreas Kafkalias said the programme risks splitting the schools into two distinct different levels and as such the ministry of education needs to conduct a study to assess how efficient the programme is.

The study is long overdue and should have been carried out four years ago, he added.

The ministry should also take the necessary measures to ensure it benefits all students both migrant and local.

Chairman of the committee Kyriacos Hadjiyiannis said the government had invested €10m in the project, though he stipulated this was an unofficial figure.

As such, it was important to know the effectiveness of this investment, he added.

This should not send the message that Cyprus does not meet its international obligations nor that it does not invest in migrant children.

“What results have we seen investing all this money? We have observed there are schools which have a large concentration of students with a migrant background. They are not evenly spread out and this is what should be done.”

Figures from 2014 to 2015 show 18 per cent of students were migrant children, Hadjiyiannis said.

 

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