First day of school for refugees; few protests

Some 1,500 refugee children started lessons at public schools Monday under a program to educate migrant youngsters, an initiative that has been marred by isolated protests.

Classes were held from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday at 30 schools across Greece. The Greek chapter of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) commissioned 12 buses to transport the children from reception centers to local schools. Officials gave them a tour of the facilities, introduced them to their teachers and supplied them with bookbags and textbooks.

The program, which was launched Monday in the Attica, Central Macedonia and Epirus regions, will be gradually expanded, with some 22,000 refugee children being inducted into classes at 800 schools nationwide.

A group of parents in the neighborhood of Akadimia Platonos, in western Athens, protested the launch of the program and demanded...