Tag Archives: Education

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Roma and Schools in Slovakia

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Ildikó Kotlárová comes from the Olaš (VlaX) Roma community and has been breaking stereotypes since she was a child. As a teacher and director of the Lajos Mocsáry Elementary School in Fiľakovo, which is attended primarily by students from the Roma community, she fights against stereotypes.

She says that those who live in generational poverty cannot lead their sons and daughters to education. Even if they wanted to learn, they don’t have the finances to do so.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czech Republic: Romani Teacher

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An interview with an assistant teacher, Anna Farkašová, who has Romane roots and teaches and help children from ghettoes.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Roma Spirit: Portrait

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The director of the Filakovo school is a finalist in Roma Spirit. Ildikó Kotlárová, a Romni,  has been working in education for 36 years. “When pupils see that the principal is a Roma woman, it can inspire and motivate them,” she says.

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

Bulgaria: Scholarships

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The Foundation “Trust for a Social Alternative” has announced a scholarship competition for students of Roma origin who are in their second, third or fourth year studying the specialties “Midwife” or “Nurse”. It is aimed at girls or women from the Roma community from the regions of Montana, Ruse, Pleven, Stara Zagora, Haskovo, Burgas, Yambol, Kyustendil, Targovishte, Shumen and Dobrich. The competition is organized within the framework of a scholarship program for Roma nurses and midwives, which is part of the “First 1000 Days” program. The goal is to create inspiring role models for young people from the Roma community, to contribute to the development of patronage care and to solving the problem of the shortage of nurses in Bulgaria, said Iskra Stoykova, program director of the “First 1000 Days” program.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and Roma Education

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An editorial on the newly published government program on education. In the case of Roma, the government “hid” the entire extensive topic of their inclusion in education under the concept of generational poverty. According to the editorial, this is the proof that the current government is not sincerely interested in solving the inclusion of Roma on a human rights and respectful approach.

News Eastern Europe Serbia

Romanes in Belgrade

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By decision of the Teaching and Scientific Council of the Faculty of Philology of the University of Belgrade, since April 15, 2015, the teaching of the Romani language has been included in the basic academic studies of this higher education institution.

Within the Centre for Professional Development and Evaluation, the Faculty has been organizing Romani language courses for years, which enables graduated teachers to obtain certificates of knowledge of the Romani language and join regular classes in primary and secondary schools where the subject Romani language with elements of the national language is taught. culture.

About 600 students attend this language in schools.

Moldova News Eastern Europe

Moldova and Education

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Roma pupils and students with good academic performance will receive scholarships of up to 1,200 lei if they pass a competition organized by the Agency for Interethnic Relations. The decision was approved by the Moldovan government.

News Eastern Europe Serbia

Romanes Classes

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An article about the first course of Romanes in Kuplin, Vojvodina, in an elementary school. The Ministry of Education has approved two classes, and there are five students from the first to the fourth grade, and seven students from the fifth to the eighth grade.

News Eastern Europe Ukraine

Lviv: Tent School

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Another article in the Ukrainian press about the tent school set up in a Roma refugee camp by a catholic priest. There are quite a few photos that show the precarity of the camp. Maybe it would be better to lodge these IDPs correctly and send the children to a regular school…

News Eastern Europe Serbia

Vojvodina and Education

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The city of Subotica financed free textbooks for vulnerable children from the Roma population again this year. This is a measure aimed at preventing school dropouts and has been in place for a number of years. The ceremony of handing over textbooks was held today at the “Matko Vuković” Elementary School.

Bosnia News Eastern Europe

Bosnia and Roma

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Romanes, language of Roma was introduced in elementary schools in Tuzla Canton, which thus became the first canton in Bosnia and Herzegovina to systematically contribute to the creation of an educational environment without discrimination and the preservation of the rights of national minorities. Years of lobbying and advocacy have finally borne fruit, say the Roma Association “Euro Rom” Tuzla.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia, Politics, and Roma Education

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Every day there are more schools in the east of Slovakia with up to 50 percent of Roma pupils.  Non-Roma Slovak parents take their children out of school and look for other options for them. They are said to be afraid of infectious diseases, bullying and fights. Why do all solutions fail? An interview with education expert Martin Šmilňák (KDH).

Bosnia News Eastern Europe

Bosnia, Roma, and Education

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Roma students do not come to class because they do not have transportation. Children who live in the Konik settlement do not attend classes in six elementary schools in the capital, since the beginning of the school year, on September 4.

News Eastern Europe North Macedonia

North Macedonia, Universities, and Roma

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Students from the Roma Association “Romaversitas” started a campaign against the abuse of quotas at the university and a correction in the application of the enrolment policy, after five Roma students who applied to the Faculty of Medicine were rejected from the state and private quota of the faculty.

News Eastern Europe Ukraine

Ukraine, Roma, and Education

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In Ukraine, among the legal problems faced by Roma, education stands out as a separate topic. About 20% of the adult population of the Roma community have no education and have never attended school as reported by the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights.

As usual, 20% of what …

“Among a number of legal, social, and economic problems, one of the key ones remains the issue of Roma access to education. The educational level of the Roma population in general remains extremely low. According to the latest research by Roma public organizations, about 20% of the adult population do not have any education and have never attended school,” the message reads.

Croatia News Eastern Europe

Croatia, Roma, and Education

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On August 29, 2023, the final conference of the Erasmus project “KULko” – “Development of cultural capital of Roma students” was held at Orehovica Elementary School in Orehovica, carried out in partnership by Orehovica Elementary School, Čakovec Public Open University, Lendava Human University and Elementary School Franceta Prešerna in Črenšovka. The project which was funded with 60,000 euros, lasted 18 months, involved 20 classroom teachers from Orehovica Elementary School (where 62 percent of the children are Roma) and the Slovenian Franceta Prešerna Elementary School, and the project produced various analyses and offered practical solutions for teachers, to help Roma children better integrate in school.

Hungary News Eastern Europe

Hungary and Analphabets

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The Hungarian Minister Gergely Gulyás who tried to explain the high percentage of 8th graders who are analphabets by laying the blame on Roma is being countered by an economist and education researcher Júlia Varga.

Hungary News Eastern Europe

Hungary, Analphabets, and Roma

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Recent statistics (see second article cited here) in Hungary give a dim view of the state of the education system. According to the result, 40% of the 8th grade students are functional analphabets. What is the response of the government (see first article cited here), well, according to Gergely Gulyás, Minister of the Prime Minister office of the Orban government, it is because of the Roma.

He is not a friend of arithmetic… If 40% of the children in Hungary are Roma, it is an interesting trend. Currently, the Roma minority in the country stands at around 10%. And it is true that their education level is low, mostly since in the countryside, they are taught in de-facto segregated schools.

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

Bulgaria, Roma, and Schools

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The Bulgarian government approved funding for 50% of the costs of the 1’000 school mediators. The rest is funded by a project called “Success for you”. These mediators are working with Roma children to try to avoid them dropping out of school too soon.

Bosnia News Eastern Europe

Bosnia, Religion, and Education

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The journalist and activist Dalibor Tanić wrote an open letter to Minister Naida Hota-Muminović on the topic of a lesson on religious holidays found in the textbook “My environment” for the third grade of elementary school, authored by Zinaida Livnjak. The lesson cites Catholic, Orthodox, Muslim and Jewish religious holidays but also adds “Roma” Holidays!

Tanić says rightly that Đurđevdan and Aliđun/Ilindan are not religious holidays, but traditional ones. Roma religion does not exist. Roma, not only in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but throughout Europe are also Muslims, Catholics, and Orthodox.

Another case of ignorance on the part of the author and the authorities …

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