Search
25.9.2023
NEWS

HISTORY

TRADITIONS, CULTURE

PERSONALITIES

USEFUL CONTACTS

PHOTOS OF THE ROMA

VARIOUS

RADIO PRAGUE










Česky English Deutsch Francais
Segregated Roma classes at Czech school spark criticism
08-09-2015 - Ruth Frankova
Czech schools have repeatedly been criticised by international watchdogs and advocacy groups for their practice of placing disproportionately large numbers of Romany children in segregated schools. In a most recent case, a school in the small town of Krásná Lípa in north Bohemia has come into the spotlight after creating a special Roma class, allegedly to help the Roma children catch up with the rest of their schoolmates.

Illustrative photo: Gabriela Hauptvogelová One of the priorities of a new school law that is to take effect in 2016 is securing inclusive education for children in schools all over the country, including those from socially disadvantaged families and Roma children. But the case in Krásná Lípa, which segregated Roma children from the rest of the pupils before they even started the education process, shows that the idea may prove difficult to implement in real life.

The headmaster of the incriminated elementary school in Krásná Lípa argues that her decision was based solely on the fact that most of the Roma kids had not attended kindergarten and would therefore have a different starting point from the others. However, the parents of the Roma children find the argument hard to believe, adding that no one warned them about these plans until the beginning of the school year. This is what one of them told Czech Television:

“They told us that they had set up the special class in order re-educate our kids and teach them some basic skills such as how to use the toilet, how to hold scissors or a pencil in their hand. But I don’t understand it. Why should my children have to learn things that they already know?”

The mayor of Krásná Lípa admitted that the reason for setting up a special class for Roma children may in fact be quite different:

“Some parents from the majority society decided not to send their kids to our school anymore because the number of Roma kids in our classrooms has been gradually increasing.”

Zdeněk Ryšavý, photo: archive of Czech Radio But according to Zdeněk Ryšavý, head of a leading Roma advocacy group Romea, the practice of segregating Roma kids from the rest of the society is always bad and will only create more problems in the future:

“This practice goes against the principles defined in the recently adopted government strategy which says that kids from different backgrounds, in this case Czech and Roma kids, should be educated together from a very early age. Segregation has far-reaching consequences, because it results in Czechs and the Roma not living together but next to each other. The only good thing about this is that we are receiving complaints from Roma parents, who are finally starting to realize the danger of their kids being educated separately.”

According to Mr Ryšavý, the case in Krásná Lípa may not be isolated, adding that a similar complaint from a different town is now being investigated.

In reaction to the situation in Krásná Lípa, the Minister for Human Rights and the Education Ministry have already pledged to send their people to further examine the matter.



Related articles
DateTitleFeature
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
02.08.2012British study: placing Czech Roma children in “special” schools unsubstantiatedNews
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