Search
3.10.2023
NEWS

HISTORY

TRADITIONS, CULTURE

PERSONALITIES

USEFUL CONTACTS

PHOTOS OF THE ROMA

VARIOUS

RADIO PRAGUE










Česky English Deutsch Francais
Amnesty International: discrimination of Romany children persists in Czech schools
13-01-2010 - Ruth Frankova
Romany children in the Czech Republic still face unequal access to education, says Amnesty International in a report which has just been released. Two years after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that placing Romany children in “special schools” was unlawful discrimination, Amnesty International went back to Ostrava where the court case was originally filed to see what had changed. While the Czech government has taken certain anti-discriminatory measures, the practice remains more or less the same, says Fotis Filippou, one of the authors of the report:

“They are still sent to schools for pupils with light mental disabilities now called practical schools, which remain in essence the same. They are still being segregated in Roma-only mainstream schools that often have lower education standards and they still face discrimination in mainstream schools when they study together with pupils from the majority population.

Why do the Czech authorities keep sending Romany children to schools with light mental disabilities?

“It is important to mention that segregation obviously is not official government policy. We are talking about the effective segregation and the situation as it happens in practice. The main problem is the fact that the mainstream schools are not ready and often are unwilling to provide support for pupils that might need it in the mainstream school. They don’t meet the needs of those children. So when those pupils start to fall behind, many teachers may think that the mainstream education is not appropriate for them.

“At the same time the assessment process that takes children to these schools is flawed and the tests used do not take into account the linguistic and cultural specificities of Romany children, Often they are also influenced by prejudice and discriminatory attitudes by staff conducting them. This may significantly lead to the segregation of a disproportionate number of Romany pupils.”

On the other hand it is often the parents that decide to send their children to special schools instead of schools for the mainstream population.

“It is true that Romany parents have to agree to place their children in one school or another. However, many Roma parents have no information about what the practical implications are of sending a child to a school or a class for children with light mental disabilities and this information is not provided to them by the authorities. At the same time, even when they do, they are often faced with a dilemma, which does not give them a real choice. They have to choose between mainstream schools, where their children are going to be ostracized and discriminated against and not provided with support, or practical schools, where their children may feel more comfortable, being among Romany peers, where they may receive more attention from their teachers but where they are going to receive lower-quality education.”

What can be done in practical terms to prevent further discrimination?

“In practical terms what should be done and what we are calling on the Czech government to do is to deepen the measures that were already taken in order to reverse discrimination and segregation in the Czech school system. We are asking the Czech government to freeze all placements of pupils in schools and classes for pupils with mild mental disabilities for the next school year.”

Pending a review of the need for such schools and curriculum we ask them to enforce by legislation the duty to desegregate education and to develop a comprehensive plan with yearly targets for the desegregation of the school system. We are also asking them to immediately take measures to provide support for all the pupils who need it in order to be able to participate in and to develop to their fullest potential within integrated mainstream schools.”



Related articles
DateTitleFeature
08.09.2015Segregated Roma classes at Czech school spark criticismNews
03.09.2015EDUin’s Bob Kartous: inclusive education in the Czech Republic still facing plenty of hurdlesNews
03.04.2014Politicians consider dual-language curriculum to help Romany children overcome language barrierNews
28.11.2013Government’s agency for social inclusion issues grim report on the situation of the Roma minorityNews
12.09.2013Brochures for schools to help combat racial prejudice and extremismNews
08.04.2013AI launches Europe-wide campaign to end discrimination against RomaNews
14.02.2013Rap video exhorts Roma parents not to send children to special schoolNews
30.11.2012Education ministry planning effective action against discrimination of Romanies in the education systemNews
13.11.2012Students highlight segregation in education during Roma WeekNews
All related articles
Article
Format for printing
Send as e-mail

Also in section "News"
31.10.19  Roma children’s choir Chavorenge and members of the Czech Philharmonic to perform in UK
13.09.19  Archaeologists discover graves of Roma persecuted during WWII in Lety camp
02.06.19  Ida Kelarová and her Romany children’s choir Chavorenge
29.05.19  Two Roma activists to receive Charter 77’s František Kriegel Award
07.04.19  Romany music from the Czech Republic
13.03.19  Czech singer Věra Bílá, dubbed the Ella Fitzgerald of Gypsy music, dies days before her comeback tour
21.11.18  Roma social worker from Ostrava listed on BBC 100 Women list
12.10.18  Why are there so few Roma politicians?
17.09.18  Virtuoso pianist Tomáš Kačo: When I tell somebody I’m a Gypsy in the US, they’re excited about it
06.06.18  Study indicates ethnic hate is contagious
Archive of the section

Most popular articles
3153053   26.02.00 Some Basic Information about the Roma Population in the Czech Republic
290319   27.01.05 The 'Devouring': A look at the Romani Holocaust
184516   26.02.00 The History and Origin of the Roma
141463   26.02.02 The Language of the Roma
107706   13.06.00 The History of the Roma Minority in the Czech Republic
105260   26.02.00 The Traditional Family Life of the Czech Roma
103929   02.06.03 The Roma Holocaust
88238    World famous Roma Personalities
88174   21.02.04 Extreme right activists demonstrate for skinhead in jail
74801    Photographs by Romani Children
Copyright © Český rozhlas / Czech Radio, 1997-2023
Vinohradská 12, 120 99 Praha 2, Czech Republic
E-mail: info@romove.cz