The European Commission has issued a formal notice to Czechia for failing to comply with EU anti-discrimination laws, citing the continued segregation of Roma children in schools.
In Czechia, many Roma children are placed in schools for children with disabilities or separate classes at disproportionate levels, despite reforms aimed at ending the segregation of Roma children, according to the Commission’s findings.
“Roma children are still overrepresented in separate classes or schools for pupils with mental/physical impairments or severe developmental or behavioural disorders,” the European Commission added.
The European Commission’s notice to Czechia has already been welcomed by the Czech Roma community.
“The Commission rightly points out that the situation remains unsatisfactory. Roma children are still unjustly placed in special schools, which is unacceptable and contrary to European norms,” Michal Miko from RomanoNet, a network of organisations supporting Roma rights, told Romea.cz.
According to Czech Roma rights NGOs, the segregation of children has a detrimental impact on the future integration of Roma people in society.
“The European Commission’s call should be seen as a final warning. The Czech Republic must take concrete measures to remedy this situation and ensure that no child is discriminated against based on his or her ethnic origin,” Miko stressed.
“The current problems are not only a failure of the education system, but also of wider society, failing to guarantee equal opportunities for all children,” he added.
In Czechia, there are currently more than 100 schools where more than a third of the pupils are Roma, and this, despite Roma children making up only 3.5 % of all pupils in the country – an ongoing issue acknowledged by the country’s Education, Youth and Sports Ministry.
“The ministry is aware of the persistent problems of the overrepresentation of Romani pupils outside the mainstream education system and is communicating this situation with both the European Commission and the Council of Europe,” the ministry responded in a press statement.
“The ministry is currently awaiting receipt of the European Commission’s letter to comment on the individual points,” the ministry’s spokeswoman Tereza Fojtová told Euractiv.
The ministry also underlined its commitment to addressing the situation by implementing measures to ensure equal access to education for all children.
Key measures include adjustments to the regional education funding system, with additional resources allocated to schools with higher proportions of pupils from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
In addition, the ministry has proposed legislative changes to improve the oversight of educational advisory bodies and prevent the unjustified placement of Roma children outside mainstream education.
(Aneta Zachová | Euractiv.cz)
Source: euractiv.com
