The European Union supports the inclusion of migrants and refugees in the school system of the Republic of Serbia while they are staying on its territory.
In Vranje, a city that is already known for its openness and tolerance, Children’s Week and the day of the “Svetozar Marković” Primary School, which is also attended by migrant children, were observed.
In “Radoje Domanović” Primary school, a nature and society trial lesson was held, which was attended by the parents of two refugee students from Ukraine. It was an opportunity for them and their parents to become more actively involved in the teaching process and to become more familiar with the quality of education in Serbia.
In the Technical School in Vranje, an extracurricular activity was organized for students of the first year of the motor vehicle mechanic major. A migrant student from Russia also attends this course.
On the side of education, the EU has been continuously supporting Serbian institutions to enable uninterrupted access to education for migrant children since 2015 through assistance to formal and non-formal education. Children and local schools benefitted from assistance by creating an adequate environment for learning and the inclusion of migrant children into the local context.
The European Union (EU) is the largest donor in the Republic of Serbia in migration management. Since 2015, with the increased mixed migration flows to the territory of Serbia, the EU has assisted Serbia with more than EUR130 million in providing humanitarian aid and protection to migrants, in particular protection of children, providing conditions for reception and care in the reception and asylum centers, including food, health care and education, providing assistance to the local communities/municipalities hosting migrants to strengthen social cohesion, assisting Serbia in the protection of the state border and combating smuggling of migrants, as well as capacity building of the institutions dealing with migration management.