2010-02-26Czech Education Ministry to add tens of millions of crowns to support for Romani pupils
Czech Education Ministry to add tens of millions of crowns to support for Romani pupils
Prague, 23.2.2010, 16:04, (ROMEA)
The Czech Education Ministry will contribute tens of millions of crowns toward support for Romani pupils this year. The funds are intended to reduce the number of Roma in special education, as such pupils are often unjustifiably assigned to such schooling. Czech Deputy Education Minister Klara Laurencikova delivered the news at a public hearing in the Czech Senate today.
Today’s “practical schools” (once called “special schools”) are primarily designed for children with light mental disability. However, experts from these schools have defended themselves and claim they do not discriminate against the Roma in any way.
According to Laurencikova, this year authorities will distribute a total of CZK 64 million through subsidy programs for these purposes. More than CZK 14 million, for example, will go to making sure more Romani children attend nursery schools, or toward preparing Romani pupils for middle school. Another CZK 10 million is intended for Romani middles school pupils to help them cover the costs of study. Elementary and nursery schools that do their best to integrate children from adverse social backgrounds should also receive more money; the ministry has allocated CZK 40 million for such purposes this year.
Another CZK 75 million is spent annually on teaching assistants, who help socially disadvantaged children master subject matter. One billion crowns from EU funds have already gone toward support for equal opportunities in education, while another CZK 4.5 billion will be available to schools over the next three years to improve educational access and outcomes for Roma.
These measures should reduce the high number of Romani children in special education. Critics allege such children often end up in special education merely because of their social disadvantage. The “practical schools” have defended themselves against such criticisms. In a recent letter to the education minister, representatives of the “practical schools” from the Plzen region wrote: “We make no distinction between Romani pupils at schools for children and pupils with special educational needs and anyone else, but we do work with each child individually, taking into account his or her specific needs.”
These teachers say they must teach some of their charges basic hygienic and social routines to supplement their familial upbringing. Children with special educational needs may also encounter incomprehension or ridicule at standard schools.
According to studies commissioned last year by the Education Ministry, one-third of Romani children are usually assigned into “practical schools” (once called “special schools”); only two non-Romani pupils out of 100 are assigned to such education. Two years ago the European Court for Human Rights enjoined the Czech Republic to introduce measures aganst the discrimination of Romani pupils at schools.
ČTK, translated by Gwendolyn Albert
ROMEA
