Access to Education
| Author | Eurydice (European Education and Culture Executive Agency) |
| Pages | 69-89 |
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I.2: ACCESS TO EDUCATION
Access to quality education for all is high on the agenda in Europe and in the wider international
community. It has two aspects: access to education as a universal human right regardless of legal
status (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948); and access to quality education – enrolling in a
school that provides high quality teaching and learning, and being able to take educational pathways
that lead to high level skills (European Commission, 2013). Children and young people from migrant
backgrounds may face challenges in both areas. This may be because they do not have full rights to
participate in education, but more often it is due to structural factors and migrants' lack of information
or support in navigating an education system they do not understand. This chapter will focus on
access policies affecting the initial stages of the enrolment and integration process. Language and
learning support policies, which are key dimensions of quality education provision throughout a child’s
schooling, are addressed in Chapters I.3 and I.4.
This chapter will first examine the top-level policies on the rights and obligations of children and young
people from migrant backgrounds with respect to education. In addition, information will be presented
on services that provide information, advice and guidance on education rights, obligations and
opportunities for those who do not understand the education system. Macro-level policies which
determine what kind of schooling newly arrived migrant children can access will then be explored.
These include the timeframe for school enrolment, criteria for determining the school grade children
are placed in, and any wider school enrolment policies. Policies primarily affecting newly arrived
migrant children and young people will be addressed as they are the ones most likely to be accessing
national education systems for the first time. However, wherever relevant, and information is available,
policies directed at first or second generation migrant children and young people will also be
discussed.
I.2.1. Rights and obligations
The legal status given to the families of newly arrived children and young people, or to newly arrived
children and young people themselves, may affect their rights and obligations in the education system
(Figures I.2.1 and I.2.2). For the purposes of this report, three broad categories of migrants have been
identified: those who hold a residence permit; asylum seekers and irregular migrants.
Having a residence permit indicates that the host country has given the migrant leave to stay (for three
months or longer). It gives rights and obligations in society, including in education, and these are
usually the same as for the native-born population. Residence permits are given to a broad range of
migrants including EU workers, third country nationals who reside in the country for employment,
research, study or family reunification purposes. They are also given to those who have been granted
refugee status and therefore the right to stay in the host country.
The EU and other international organisations have made an attempt to draw attention to the need to
educate resident children. Directive 77/486/CEE (1) addresses the education of children of migrant
workers from another EU Member State. It applies to children for whom education is compulsory
according to the host country regulations. The Directive calls for free tuition, adapted to the needs of
these children, and the teaching of the host country language. In addition, it promotes the teaching of
the first/home language and the culture of the country of origin in cooperation with the Member State
of origin.
(1) Council Directive 77/486/EEC of 25 July 1977 on the education of the children of migrant workers (77/486/EEC)
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A31977L0486
Integrating Students from Migrant Backgrounds into Schools in Europe: National Policies and Measures
70
EU legislation also provides for the equal treatment of third country nationals legally residing in
Member States; and thus they should have the same rights and obligations as nationals. Similarly, the
EU Action Plan for the integration of third country nationals (2) also calls for the same provisions for
refugees, and asylum seekers – to be discussed below – whose applications would most probably be
accepted.
Asylum seekers submit a request for humanitarian protection and are waiting for the decision of the
minors should have access to education within three months of the submission of their asylum
request. It also specifies that 'preparatory classes, including language classes, shall be provided to
minors where it is necessary to facilitate their access to and participation in the education system'.
Finally, irregular migrants enter or stay in the country without the necessary authorisation required
under immigration regulations and have not submitted a request for asylum. They do not have a legal
status in the country (4). There is no EU regulation or international agreement on their rights in host
countries. However, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (5) require that children should have
access to education regardless of their immigration status.
In more than three-quarters of education systems, all compulsory school age children and
young people from migrant backgrounds have the same rights and obligations with respect to
education as their native-born peers
In all European countries, it is a legal right for children and young people who are nationals of the
country to participate in public education free of charge. Participating in education is also obligatory for
children and young people of a certain age (6). Compulsory school age is defined in the top-level
regulations/recommendations of each education system. It starts in most European countries at the
beginning of primary education between the ages of 4 and 6 and ends between the ages of 15 and 18.
Most countries extend the same rights and obligations to children and young people who are not
citizens of the host country. However, different legal statuses may imply different rights and obligations
with respect to education. Figure I.2.1 shows the national policies on the rights and obligations with
respect to the education of compulsory school age children and young people from migrant
backgrounds as compared to their native-born peers.
In 34 education systems, all compulsory school age children and young people from migrant
backgrounds (including those with a residence permit, asylum seekers and irregular migrants) have
the same rights and obligations in compulsory education in the host country. In contrast, in eight
education systems, some children and young people from migrant backgrounds have different rights
and/or obligations from their native-born peers.
(2) Action Plan on the integration of third country nationals COM (2016) 377 final;
https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/sites/homeaffairs/files/what-we-do/policies/european-agenda-migration/proposal-
implementation-package/docs/20160607/communication_action_plan_integration_third-country_nationals_en.pdf
(3) Directive 2013/33/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 laying down standards for the
reception of applicants for international protection (recast);
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32013L0033&from=FR
(4) Some countries, however, grant temporary residence permit to irregular minors under specific circumstances.
(5) http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CRC.aspx
(6) Schooling obligations maybe met by attending school or through home education, depending on specific top-level
legislation in the education system concerned (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, forthcoming).
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