Q:
A:
Roma children have no equal access to education
Belgrade,
23 October 2008
State Secretary for the Education Ministry Tinde Kovac-Cerovic announced the inclusion of Roma children in pre-school programmes and the introduction of assistants of Roma nationality to aid in their tuition.
At a discussion themed "Equal Availability of Quality Education for the Roma in Serbia – Monitoring Report", Kovac-Cerovic said that Roma children will take different tests when enrolling in primary schools.
She recalled that the Ministry has worked a lot on education for the Roma since 2003, but also pointed out that at international level there is much more to be done.
State Secretary at the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights Ivan Bulatovic announced that the Ministry, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, will continue drafting and publishing two Roma language textbooks, developing the Roma language as a school subject, improving publishing opportunities for the Roma and supporting newspapers for the youth in their mother-tongue.
At a round table discussion it was pointed out that only 2% of Roma children are in preschool education, while less than 40% attend primary school.
Apart from lack of space in kindergartens, the problems are also lack of birth and medical certificates, proof of residency and the fact that individual kindergartens have their own criteria for enrolment. Administrative and legal obstacles, education costs, bad living conditions and insufficient knowledge of official school language are huge and important problems.
The Ministry for Human and Minority and Rights together with the Fund for an Open Society and the EU Monitoring and Advocacy Programme (EUMAP) from the Budapest Open Society Institute organised the round table discussion.
She recalled that the Ministry has worked a lot on education for the Roma since 2003, but also pointed out that at international level there is much more to be done.
State Secretary at the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights Ivan Bulatovic announced that the Ministry, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, will continue drafting and publishing two Roma language textbooks, developing the Roma language as a school subject, improving publishing opportunities for the Roma and supporting newspapers for the youth in their mother-tongue.
At a round table discussion it was pointed out that only 2% of Roma children are in preschool education, while less than 40% attend primary school.
Apart from lack of space in kindergartens, the problems are also lack of birth and medical certificates, proof of residency and the fact that individual kindergartens have their own criteria for enrolment. Administrative and legal obstacles, education costs, bad living conditions and insufficient knowledge of official school language are huge and important problems.
The Ministry for Human and Minority and Rights together with the Fund for an Open Society and the EU Monitoring and Advocacy Programme (EUMAP) from the Budapest Open Society Institute organised the round table discussion.
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