NEWS

Eight-five percent of disabled children in Greece not receiving an education, study finds

Just 15 percent of Greece’s estimated 200,000 children living with a disability have access to education, a recent study by the local branch of nongovernmental organization ActionAid has found.

Using a report for 2010-11 compiled by the Greek state for the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, among other data, ActionAid found that of 200,000 children registered as being mentally or physically disabled, only 31,761 went to school.

The study further found that of the 31,761disabled children receiving an education, the overwhelming majority (24,105) were at general public schools and just 7,656 at institutions specializing in students with disabilities.

According to head ActionAid researcher Pelagia Papanikolaou, a PhD candidate at Athens Law School, the main obstacles keeping disabled children from receiving an education are shortages in transportation, infrastructure such as ramps, audiovisual aids, staff and regular funding.

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