Tag Archives: Education

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovenia and Roma

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The President of the Slovene Republic, Nataša Pirc Musar, recently held a consultation with representatives of the Roma community, which was also attended by the State Secretary from the Prime Minister’s Office, Dr. Anton Grizold. The latter is the head of the working group for dealing with the Roma “issue”, which met for the first time almost half a year ago. At the meeting, Grizold said that the task force will tackle the challenges in a two-pronged manner – with an action plan for the most pressing problems and with systemic solutions.

The area of particular concern is the region of Novo Mesto where the police intervene hundreds of times a year in the Roma settlement Žabjak.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovak Segregation

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A podcast on the issue of segregation of Roam children in the Slovak school system for which the country is sued by the European commission.

In Slovakia, 65% of Roma pupils between the ages of 6 and 15 attend schools where all or most of the pupils are Roma, which represents an increase of 5 percentage points compared to 2016. Slovakia is thus the EU member state with the highest rate of segregation of Roma in education, reports the European Commission.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czech President and Roma

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On April 13, President Petr Pavel and his wife Eva received a group of Roma students at Prague Castle. The meeting took place as part of this year’s International Roma Day, which fell on April 8.

“What I consider to be one of the biggest dangers of our time – and it is far from only affecting Roma people – is prejudice. They often stem from a lack of information, from stereotypes, from a lack of will to listen to each other and understand each other’s arguments… For me, you represent an opportunity to point out good examples not only towards your community, but above all to the majority community. You are an example of the fact that it is possible to get out of the circle of prejudices,” Pavel said at the beginning of the meeting.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and Roma Segregation

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The temporarily appointed Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger (Democrats) and Peter Pellegrini (Hlas-SD). Answered questions from the Audience. Some questions also touched on the lawsuit that Slovakia is currently facing for the segregation of Roma children. While Heger claimed that it is not a problem that could be solved overnight with money, ex-prime minister Peter Pellegrini has a completely different opinion. Eduard Heger says that the segregation of Roma children must be solved by their integration, but he did not present concrete steps to achieve this. Peter Pellegrini, on the other hand, is against interfering with the composition of classes. i.e. introducing quotas.

In fact, the issue is not that complex: Segregation occurs when schools are located in Roma settlements, and moving the children to other schools would solve the issue. The US knows about it.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

European Commission, Slovakia, and Segregation

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The European Commission is suing Slovakia for not doing enough in ending segregation of Roma in the school system. Although Slovakia has carried out several legislative reforms and is trying to integrate Roma, progress is insufficient, the EC said in a statement. According to Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger, the practical solution to the problem goes beyond one election period.

Bosnia News Eastern Europe

Bosnia and Roma

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The head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Brian Aggeler was in Mostar. He insisted that there is a need to improve education and the status of Roma besides fighting corruption in the country.

News Eastern Europe Serbia

Serbia and Higher Education

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Roma high school students visited the Faculty of Law. The Faculty of Law of the University of Niš has signed an agreement on cooperation with the Roma Education Foundation to ensure the greatest degree of inclusivity in education.

Let’s see if this works out …

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czech Republic: Segregation?

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Speaking to the Upper House of the Czech Parliament last week, Senator Jana Zwyrtek Hamplová called mixing Roma and non-Roma students in schools “an unworkable idea.” According to her, separate classes would give Roma children a better chance of succeeding. These remarks have aroused strong criticism in a country where school segregation largely remains and is often criticized by international institutions. Hungary was recently condemned for exactly this reason.

Hungary News Eastern Europe

Hungary: Condemned

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Hungary was condemned by the European Court of Human Rights for the segregation of Roma in the education system and has been asked to provide a plan to remediate this.

It is doubtful whether Orban and his government will comply. Segregated schools are common in Hungary for Roma.

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

Roma Teachers in Bulgaria

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The Trust for Social Alternative Foundation in Bulgaria is funding the “Young Roma Educators” program. According to the program director, Evgenia Volen, Roma children, like all children, have a need from a young age to recognize their potential in a significant adult who serves as a role model. They want to be accepted as they are, and to see examples from their own community that they can become meaningful and economically independent people in the place where they live. She believes that teachers who come from the local community are part of the environment that can engage children in learning.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Interview with a Teacher

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An interview with Stanislava Dotková, a teacher in a school in the infamous Roma housing estate of Lunik IX in Košice.

In the interview, she explains, among other things, whether the fact that she is Roma herself helps her in teaching Roma pupils, why they have a sensory carpet in the classroom and what she lacks in the education of excluded communities.

News Switzerland

Switzerland: New School Book

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A new book on Jenische, Sinti and Roma has just been published in Switzerland. The book is meant to be used in schools. Until recently, Switzerland did not say a word in school about these minorities.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czech Public Schools and Roma

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A Rom is the only Roma teacher in a housing estate in Litvín. Twenty years ago, Marian Dancso had to leave the job he loved. As a sailor, he sailed on the Elbe and the North Sea for several years on cargo ships. “I served on tankers that transported chemicals, gasoline, diesel. I also spent a lot of time in Hamburg and Antwerp before I was seriously injured in a fire on board,” recalls the forty-one-year-old man, who after primary school in his native Lom u Most graduated from the Secondary Vocational School of Shipping in Děčín.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czech Republic, Schools, and Roma

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The story of Roma children being taught English but not having any textbook. This in a Roma settlement, which, according to the journalist, resembles wor torn Ukraine.

Bad.

Hungary News Eastern Europe

Hungary, the Church, Roma, and the EU

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The Christian Roma Vocational Colleges Network and the Roma Vocational Colleges Association will participate in a professional trip at the beginning of March to present themselves at an international conference in Brussels.

In Hungary, eleven Roma vocational colleges have been working for more than ten years on the higher education career path and institutional and social integration of young people of Roma origin and/or underprivileged.

The issue with this is the fact that education is segregated. That seems not to be obvious to the promoters of such colleges…

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czech Republic and Roma Integration

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An interview with Magdalena Karvayova, co-founder of the Awen Amenca association which focuses on equal access to quality education for Roma children.

There is a long way to go still

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia School Segregation

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After the supreme court judgement on school segregation, condemning the state and town of Stará Ľubovňa-Podsadek, another case of segregation was judged by the regional court in Prešov. This one concerned three Roma students in the Elementary School with Kindergarten in Hermanovce in the Prešov district. The court judged they were discriminated against. The parents of the three children will receive each 5’000 EUR.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czech Teachers and Diversity

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At the end of a five day visit to the Czech Republic, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic did not mince her words and stated that the country needed to do more to stop discrimination against Roma. She also added that schooling is all too often still segregated and that the prejudices of the teachers and staff against Roma need to be addressed.

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