Tag Archives: Segregation

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czech Segregation

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The segregation of Roma children in the Czech education continues. It is hard to imagine another area that would be so neglected and so long-term overlooked in Czech politics as this one.

Already in 2007, the European Court of Human Rights condemned the Czech Republic due to unequal access to the education of Romani men and women. But not much has changed over the next fifteen years. Segregated education continues to be a harsh reality for children from the Roma minority.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czechia and School Segregation

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Two articles dwelling on what happened in the 16 years since the Czech Republic was condemned for school segregation and discrimination against Roma. There are still segregated school, and according to the Deputy Minister of Education Jiří Nantl (ODS), Czech society is thereby producing clients of the welfare state.

These schools should be closed, and desegregations should be enforced.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czech President on Roma

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Czech President Petr Pavel commented about Roma in his speech Deník na Kladno.  On Wednesday, he visited the Vinařice prison, where the majority of Roma prisoners are. He thought about why that was.

He stated: “We have fifteen primary schools here, two of which are racially segregated, almost all the children are Roma. I think we will not move on until the majority realizes that the integration of Roma is an important long-term task of the Czech Republic. And until we get Roma for the task as well.”

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Fico and Roma

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Slovak Prime Minister Fico’s Government has announced they will provide funds for camera systems. The goal is to increase safety. And how do they determine which localities will get those cameras? Solely on the number of Roma living in settlements there.

This is both populist and racist and stokes discrimination.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Amnesty on Slovakia

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Slovakia has not yet made a commitment to protect the right to housing and end homelessness. In addition, the report states that “a disproportionate number of Roma in Slovakia still live in segregated, environmentally dangerous dwellings with insufficient access to water, sanitation and electricity in 2023.

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).

Croatia News Eastern Europe

Croatia and Segregation

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After a two-month summer break in the Croatian Parliament, the fall session began today with a “topical morning” during which MPs will ask questions to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and members of the Government. The session began violently, with the distribution of warnings due to objections by deputies to the order in which questions were asked.

Veljko Kajtazi, deputy from the Roma minority, asked why there is segregation of Roma children in Croatia, who are separated into special classes, and the Minister of Education Radovan Fuhs says that there are “pure Roma classes”, mostly in Međimurje County.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Desegregation in Slovakia

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A new inclusive kindergarten was opened in Spišské Tomášovce in the district of Spišská Nová Ves on Thursday. 70 children are enrolled in it, of which 33 are from the Roma community. TASR was informed about this by Michaela Kotradyová from the Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Slovak Government for Roma Communities.

The representative of the Slovak government for Roma communities, Ján Hero, attended the opening, who pointed out that the first three years of life are the most decisive for how children will do in kindergarten and how they will be able to apply themselves later in life. “That’s when the fastest brain development takes place. Intervention during this period is therefore crucial. I am very happy that this work was successful and I am grateful that it adheres to the principles of destigmatisation, desegregation, deghettoization,” he declared.

  • V Spišských Tomášovciach otvorili novú inkluzívnu materskú školu. In: Tearz. 31.08.2023. https://www.teraz.sk/regiony/v-spisskych-tomasovciach-otvorili-no/737915-clanok.html
Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czech Republic – Segregation

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Well, no surprise: Roma children are segregated and discriminated against in the Czech school system.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and Inclusion

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Peter Pollák, a Slovak EU MP stated that when it comes to Roma children, there was not a single minister of education who would give them a chance for the future. The government should come with a clear commitment to drastically revise the current plans in the area of school desegregation.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and School Segregation

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The new Roma mayor of Žehne, near Prešov, Slovakia, wants to radically solve the discrimination of children in kindergarten.

There are purely Roma children in one class, and their non-Roma classmates attend the other class. Other children from the Roma settlement only go to the community centre in the morning.  “So that the children are mixed up. When we have 14 children here, there will be seven and seven there. Also Roma and non-Roma,” explained the mayor.

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.

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.

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.

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.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Segregation

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Another article about the recent condemnation of the Slovak state and the town of Stará Ľubovňa-Podsadek for having run a segregated school for Roma. The decision was made by the Supreme Court based on the appeal of the non-governmental organization Counselling for Civil and Human Rights, which confirmed that the state is responsible for segregation even if it arises only because the state neglects its obligations or fails to act. According to the Advisory Board, this judgment is ground-breaking.

“When these children finished primary education, they had very limited options of where to go. One of them wanted to be a car mechanic, but since he attended a special school, he had no chance to get the necessary education,” says Vanda Durbáková, a lawyer from the consulting firm, about the case.

Well done!

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