Continued
D, Conferences, seminars visited:
Romas in CEE, England, and organizer: European Dialogue,
Peterburgh, UK, June 1998
Paper titled: The chances of Intercultural Education in
Hungary from a Foundation Point of view, - speaker
Intercultural Education in the context of Human Rights,
international conference, Budapest, 3-4 December, 1998 organizer, speaker
The mid-term Strategy of the Government of the increasement
of the situation of Romas
Budapest, 11, December 1998, participant
Conference on the evaluation of the Soros Foundation Roma
Program, Pécs, 14-15 January, 1999 , participant
International Meeting, Teachers for tolerance and Cultural
Pluralism, Prague, 11-13 February, 1999,Paper titeled: Schools initiatives in
Hungary for cultural pluralism,speaker
The chances of Multicultural Education,Senat,14. May 1999,
Prague, participant
17th International Training Session on Human
Rights and Peace Education 11-17,July,1999, Genova, organizer
CIFEDHOP,paricipant (From other sources, but relates to the research topic(
Koszeg Summer University, Hannibal at the portas,
lecturer „ the relevance of Human Rights education in CEE, 2-5, August,1999
E, Other activities related to the project:
Printing preparation of the Amnesty International manual
for teachers, Title: First Steps in Teaching Human Rights.Published 14th
of September 1999. Supported by the UNCHR, United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees.
Editing a publication titled: Intercultural Education in
CEE, will be published in November.1999. The book consist from lectures and
case studies were presented on the conference with the same title in 3-4,1998
December. Supported by the KulturKontakt Austria, Hungarian Ministry of
Education, European Connections Department
August- September libary work.
Topics of the relating literature:
- Poverty and social exclusion,
- Selection and discrimination,
- Sociological surveys on Education: the relationship of poverty and the
choosing of
- schooling, the relationship of learning and social background, the
situation of Roma pupils in education, cultural transmittance and the
process of social integration,
- European documents and declarations about national or ethnical rights, the
rights of religion and to language, Children Rights and Human Rights
- Intercultural and Multicultural Education
- Hungarian and Czech legislation on the changes of educational legislation
and on Ethnic and Minority Rights
Methodology:
As it was stated before the chosen method to be followed
was making case studies and structured interviews, which I completed with the
method of circle discussions( In Hungary only. In the Czech Republic language
was a barrier to use this method. I chose this method to get beyond the
statistical data and to have deeper understanding of the nature of exclusion,
and the nature of the initiatives taken.
Discussion Circles (study circles)
The idea of the study circle is rooted in the civic
movements of 19Th century America, and is based on small group discussions
(5-20 people) of common concerns and difficult issues. During the discussions
of such kind cooperation and participation are stressed so that the group can
capitalize on the experience of all its members. The group works through
difficult issues concerning the choices the society or a given organization is
facing. The study circles seek common ground.
I find this method extremely useful in gathering
information about the nature of everyday difficulties in schools, how these
are dealt with, and about the way of thinking demonstrated in the initiatives
already introduced. Based on feedback, this method also gives new ideas and a
better understanding for the participants. In most of the places I was able to
organize Discussion Circles with the participation of not only the teachers
and the school directors, but the members of some institutions that are
connected to the school (family helping centers, local government
representatives, minority self government representatives). In case this was
not possible to arrange, I tried to contact the members of the appropriate
institutions separately. In most cases some members of the school staff were
representatives of the local government as well.
Structured interviews
Beside the discussion circles I made interviews with the
teachers and school directors, and the representatives of the local
governments. Where it was possible I interviewed the leaders of the given
minority self governments and the members of some institutions related to the
schools. Although a few case studies does not enable me to make generally
valid statements about the processes in the education system, but can provide
information about the nature of the problem, that could be useful for other
schools also. The structured interviews in the schools focused on the
following questions:
ˇ What kind of problems are met / defined in the
everyday practice,
ˇ What kind of initiatives are taken in reaction to
the defined problems,
ˇ Who is the target of these initiatives /
programs,
ˇ What kind of resources they have, what kind of
resources they would need,
ˇ What are the chances of the students in the
future like?
ˇ How is the multiethnicism dealt with?
ˇ Have the teachers introduced new elements in the
curricula in the last years and if so in which fields,
ˇ What help is received or needed from NGO's and
from the state,
ˇ What policy changes would be welcomed?
The following information was gathered about the students
of each school:
ˇ The number of the students
ˇ Who is considered to be disadvantaged in the
schools?
ˇ The number of Roma students
ˇ The type of helping institutions / professionals
they are in contact with (state institutions, family helping centers, children’s
welfare services and local governments) and the nature of their co-operation
Along the case studies conducted in the schools I made
background interviews with professionals working in the field of education and
with representatives of civil organizations. Concerning the civil
organizations I was especially anxious to know where and by what kind of
programs they are able to help the work of the school.
9.A Publication and other results
Projects
Based on the experiences in the schools visited I have
developed and already began a few projects on helping schools develop their
pedagogical programs and a better relation with the community.
- The objectives of the CLAP project financed by the European Union are the
following: (submitted)
- Strengthening intercultural relations in the settlement through
co-operation on common issues,
- Providing methodological help for teachers and developing intercultural
curricula in the school, and a better integration of the school in the
community,
- Enhancing the connection of the parent and the teacher to the school,
- Developing communication among local social partners,
- The publication of a manual of games for teachers, in order to publishe
the achievements of the project.
Hejokeresztúr is a village located in the
North-Eastern part of Hungary. It is in connection with two other locations,
Szalonta and Szakáld. These three settlements have one common primary school.
Hejokeresztúr is inhabited by 1150 people, in the two villages connected
live another 1200. Those in employment live off agriculture.In these villages
the Romas live in houses without infrastructure. They do not have primary
education and mainly support themselves by social aid. The oldest person in
the Roma community is 50 years old. The mortality rate among Romas is very
high due to bad health and social conditions.
33-35% of the 259 students in the school come from the Roma
settlement. There are 17 teachers. Only 5% of the students continue their
studies in secondary schooling, others go to skilled labor schools.
The school is owned by the local governments of the three
villages.
The teachers are strongly committed to make school and
community life better.
The problems of this school are excellent examples of the
difficulties that schools in disadvantaged areas in Hungary are faced with.
The syndrome of ‘white flight’ for example, a form of social exclusion.
- In co-operation with the ERRC and the UNICEF and with the involvement of
three EEC countries, we are in the preparatory phase of building up a
project on the integration of Roma children in the main stream education.
The coordination of the training is our responsibility.( in process, not
finalized yet)
- We have applied to the United States Peace Institute with a project called
‘Peace Bus’.(The decission will be made in January 2000)
The Peace Bus is a mobile team of the trainers of our
Foundation and the actors, including a professional psychiatrist, social
workers and psychologists, of a Playback Theater. The incorporation of the
theater group brings new approaches to conflict prevention, building
confidence and strengthening relations between different nationalities and
ethnic groups.
In order to raise the awareness of the community in the
issues of peace and human rights, the performances of the theater are followed
by a "moving exhibition" showing films and documents on human rights
and peace education, and promoting the human rights documents and leaflets of
Hungarian and international NGO’s.
Within the framework of this project, teachers and students
of the local schools will participate in a training program and will become
familiar with the concepts of human rights, peace education, conflict
resolution and the school initiatives existing in the region.
- On the 3-4th of December 1999 with the support of
KulturKontakt-Austria ( Submitted) I organize a project preparatory meeting
with the participation of 7 Eastern Central European NGO leaders and experts
in the field of education. The title of the project planned is "What we
know about each other". This project also involves the collection of
school initiatives strengthening multi-ethnic communities. Our further
objectives are to raise the attention of the founders to supporting various
programs in this field. Some connections with the Hungarian Socrates Program
are already established.
The objectives of the meeting are:
- To plan a survey of primary school books examining how and in what context
the different nationalities appear in the different subjects.
- To strengthen intercultural education in the region by learning more about
our neighbors.
Conferences
Teachers for Tolerance, 21-22nd January 2000,
Prague – presentation of the current research findings.
Publication
The book of ‘Intercultural Education in the CEE’ is to
be published at the end of November 1999. This book supported by
Kultur-kontakt-Austria and the Hungarian Ministry of Education European
Connections Department will contain the lectures and case studies presented at
the conference of the same title in 3-4th December 1998. The
publication is prepared both in English and Hungarian and will be distributed
among partner schools and institutions of the CEE.
The Libary of the Hungarian Human Rights Information
Service asked a copy from the publication. They expressed their interest to
publish it in the Fundamentum quarterly journal, next year ( I want to rewrite
the findings for suitable to their style, it will be published in Hungarian,
and I am ready to send the copy when it is ready)
Stephan P Osborne, the professor of the Public Service
Management department of Aston Business School, Birmingham is interested in
publishing the research outcomes in the Research Paper series. I already had a
publication in this series under the number of RP9712. I still work on it and
ready to send a copy to the RSS office.
Data Base
My research will be available on the web page (/ethnic)on
managing multiethnic communities of the Local Government Initiatives Program
of OSI, Budapest. (contact person: Perta Kovács, submitted, but I still work
on the case studies as it has to be adjusted to their requirements)
10. Detailed Summary of the findings
Social exclusion in the education system
How can the schools in disadvantaged areas of Hungary can
provide better chances for their students in the age of globalization
Preface
The children of groups living on the periphery of society
have disadvantage in school as well. The reverse of this statement is also true:
those for who school was equal to failure experience difficulties in the
community that may lead to unstable social status. These people have a greater
chance of becoming dependent of the system of social aid than to evolve into
responsible citizens enforcing their democratic rights. The
free choice of school, and the freedom of founding new schools mean the break of
the monopoly of the state, and are often related to the concept of pluralism.
The questions of how the schools are dealing with social and cultural diversity,
and to what extent the system allows pluralism affect culture and education has
to be answered. The above dilemma may be solved according the values. Such
equality, fairness and dignity mean the effectivation of human rights.
One important role of the different politics is to establish
conditions in which everyone can practice their negative rights of freedom
(human and citizen rights) and political rights. These rights seem to be
commonly accepted also as the conditions of joining the European Union. The
Human Rights of the UN has been accepted on the 10th of December
1948. The human rights are the pillars of justice, freedom and peace. I examine
the appearance and enforcement of these rights and values among primary school
students in Hungary and the Czech Republic.
The research aims to investigate to what extent do the
everyday practice of school and the formation of rights enhance or hinder the
actual practice and enforcement of the abstract concepts – such as freedom,
tolerance, justice, equality - formulated in the human rights, and the process
of exclusion from the community.
1. Integration and exclusion
In the society a distinction is often made between the
ideas of the so-called system integration and social integration.
(Lockwood, 1963) In simple terms, system integration involves impersonal
powers (market mechanism, institutions, legal system, and mass communication),
that hold together the society and with which the members of the society need
to conform. (The remarks cited above are probably the results of this rule of
adaptation and the powerless dependence on these large-scale processes.) The
key words of social integration are personal communication, culture, ethics
and socialization. To put it simply, one might speak about integration in case
these two work together and are able to regenerate without any major
disorders. On the other hand, disintegration occurs when the sub-systems are
not hold together by the fabric of norms and values. Perfectly integrated
society does not exist. Integration supposes norms, principles, and values
that are able to hold together a society. (In regard to Europe democracy is
one of the key principles of this process. Democracy that is not only a social
structure, but means the acceptance of values such as Equality, or values
stated in the Human Rights, Children Rights, Minority Rights etc.)
Segregation and discrimination that can lead to exclusion
are considered to be the opposites of integration. The term exclusion
has two main meanings: the act of expelling someone from a place where he
formerly belonged or depriving that person/group of certain rights, by keeping
him outside, denying access. In other words the victim of exclusion – the
outcast – is "cast out" or "refused acceptance".
Therefore, the term refers to certain people/groups who are
excluded from the different areas (economy related areas, institutions, etc.),
attitudes and values prevalent in society. The definition of these
people/groups, who have relatively or objectively bad opportunities in the
society (the unemployed, those of low educational level, the poor, minorities,
and women…) with the term of " inadequacy" in comparison with the
average, the norm is to be avoided. Talking about them only, instead of the
conflicts and mechanism that lead to their exclusion, would also be a mistake.
According to the definition of the Council of Europe:
"Social exclusion can be analyzed in terms of denial –or non
realization – of social rights…". Exclusion may have a number of
degrees: restricted access, denial of access or multiple and persistent
deprivation of the rights and advantages more often than not leading to
infringement of freedoms. The European Union definition refers quite
explicitly to the so-called "social rights". Returning to the
distinction and debate which marked the early stages of modern social
policies, exclusion is not only defined in terms of rights of
"freedoms", but covers rights in terms of "claims", which
cannot be guaranteed without the intervention of the state or public
authorities. Intervention doesn’t only mean the declaration of rights.
Initiatives targeted at people either deprived of their rights or threatened
by the loss of their rights obviously can not be confined to affirming the
rights of individuals, or to setting forth the rights for the most
disadvantaged. The fact and the process of exclusion is closely related to the
ability of representing one's interests and capabilities (Sen,1985,a,b). As
many authors have pointed out, the reduction of exclusion needs the
declaration and implementation of rights, ensuring the access to the rights on
various levels.
The report of the International Committee led by Jacques
Delors states the following. "Amidst the critical problems of social
relations, education has the difficult role to create out of diversity the
positive aspects of mutual understanding among people and groups. Most
importantly, it has to provide everyone the means of becoming a responsible
and active citizen, a goal that can be realized only in democracy." This
is why I believe it is important to investigate the conditions and aims are
expressed in the law, the possibilities provided for children, and how these
appear in practice in the school.
The school as a social institution can help the integration
of certain groups, but at the same time could enhance the processes of
disintegration as well. Making large-scale changes in the processes on the
macro level is not the responsibility of the school. The schools have the
choice to give in and contribute to the regeneration of disintegration, or to
seek the means by which they are able to develop their own system, thus (as
examples demonstrate) developing the opportunities of the social group/class
of their students. Of course, it is not adequate to study these strategies of
survival solely on institutional level.
2. An excluded group – Romas in Hungary and the Czech
Republic
2/A Social characteristics of the transition concerning the
situation of Romas:
The Roma are present in all the countries of the region and
constitute around 5 -10 % of their population. During the last 10 years
of the so called socialist period, radical changes have occurred in the life
of the Roma.
The extensive economic development needed a lot of
unskilled labor force and a lot of Romas were forced to enter the main stream
of economy – with the lowest level of skills - for the lowest income. This
forced action has had a very serious repercussion on the social, and cultural
structure of the Roma community as it was the first time in history that they
have been put in a situation, where a regular monthly income, social security
and medical care became their lot. As a result, their state of being outside
has changed into a situation of being inside the community, despite the fact
that they have remained on the lowest social level, still experiencing
discrimination and exclusion.
When the transition started in 1990 with the introduction
of market economy, the Roma work force became redundant. Today the Roma
constitute the overwhelming part of the unemployed in these countries. Their
survival is based on the meager allowances they receive from the social
security system which in some cases is complemented by some income from odd
jobs. The tension however is at a constant growth.. Some hundred of Roma
families from Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary went to Canada in the
Summer, and to England in the Autumn of 1997, asking for political asylum. The
influx to Canada and Britain brought the issue to the attention of both the
political representatives and the general public, and has led to the increased
the expression of negative feelings and attitudes towards Roma in the media.
The freedom of expression, a characteristic trait of the
new democracy, has had adverse effects as well. The hate speech against the
Roma, something one couldn’t – at least openly - do in the previous regime
has now appeared in the media of the region.
Political instability, economic crises, the weakened
authority of the state, and the growing right wing tendencies based on the
revival of nationalism fueled numerous cases of racially motivated violence
and blaming. The violence and the exodus have drawn the attention of national
and international authorities to the problem. Granting equality and the
enforcement of human rights are among the basic conditions of joining the
European Union. Quoting Vaclav Havel "the success of the battle in the
Czech Republic (and in the other countries of Central-Easter Europe) for the
equal human rights of gypsies could be the measure of democratization."
2/B Legal position and chances
The rights granted for the Roma can be divided into two
different, but related groups: the rights against discrimination and minority
rights. All of the important laws, the Constitution, the Law of Education, and
the Code of Work include the right against discrimination. The Czech Republic
and Hungary have ratified various international agreements. However, the
appearance of these in law and order of has often been delayed a few years and
lacked the guarantee of procedure.
Affirmative measures or positive discrimination is one of
the most debated issues. Even the result of an agreement reached over the need
to introduce affirmative measures, - as the only solution of redressing the
balance - may be surprisingly negative. Policies and practices in the favor of
minorities and the involvement of minority representatives could be
constructed in such a way that, deliberately or without, it is doomed to
failure. The blame in these cases is put on the minority and securing the
proof that nothing works for "them" effectively.
Radó, furthermore, has pointed out, that even the ideal
state free of discrimination and exclusion would not change the situation of
Roma, since the inequality of individuals and groups result from inequality in
the past. "From the point of view of the Roma this means, that as long as
they are the victims of past inequalities – resulting mainly from exclusion
by the majority – they will never obtain equal chances."
A list of examples of discrimination can be found in both
of the countries examined. The number of racially motivated attacks against
Roma has increased dramatically since 1989. A detailed overview of analysis of
the Czech law, in view of recourse of racism and discrimination, is provided
in the Report of the Czech Helsinki Committee on the Status of Human Rights
Protection in 1998. The Roma Rights newsletter also includes a list of racist
attacks and violence in the past few years, the implications of which are to
be felt in the region even today
The case of Hungary is quite interesting. On one hand, the
constitutional obligation to have minority representation in the parliament
has not been solved for the last 10 years – the Roma who have been members
of parliament were elected on party lists and not as ethnic representatives.
On the other hand, this is the only country where ethnic local
self-governments do exist. The Act on the rights of National and Ethnic
Minorities, passed by the National Assembly in 1993, meant, that in a
democratic framework ethnic and cultural differences could be expressed
openly, allowing the genuine organizations of minority to enter civil society.
In the financial support of the minorities an office for National Ethnic and
Minority has been established in 1994. In the following year the Public
Foundation for the Gypsy Minority in Hungary was established. At the beginning
of 1996, by the setting up of the Primer Gypsy Cabinet the political
connotations of the question of the Roma have become stronger, overshadowing
professional arguments. At present, instead of an overall concept, the Roma
question depends on the personal negotiations of the Prime Minister and the
leader of the National Gypsy Minority Self-Government. Ombudsman offices on
minorities and data protection has also been established in order to protect
Human Rights.
The Czech government formulated its policy towards
minorities in the Conception of approach of the government towards the
affairs of national minorities in the Czech republic in 1994 (Government
resolution 63/ 1994). This document is not legally binding, but set the basic
principles of the minority policy, the position of minorities and the
protection of their rights. The Council for National Minorities of the
Government of the Czech Republic was established in 1993. It has no executive
power and is only an advisory body for the government. From September 1998 the
Council belongs under the competence of the Government Commissioner for Human
Rights, who is its chairperson. In October 1977 the so called Bratinka Report
was adopted by the Czech Government, preparing a long term plan of action and
leading to the establishment of the Interdepartmental Commission for Romani
Affairs. One of the major plans was the establishment of Romani social
advisors within district authorities. Another, concerning certain changes in
the educational policies, was the introduction of Romani teacher assistants in
schools. Most changes, however, have met enormous resistance on the part of
bureaucrats in charge. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
passed the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities on
10 November 1994. The Czech Republic signed this Convention in Strasbourg on
28 April 1995, and entered in effect on 1 February 1998.
In April 1999 the government adopted a new policy towards
the Roma: the Policy of the Czech government towards the Romani community
supporting their integration into society, which will hopefully serve as
the starting point of long term and systematic changes. The draft concept of
Government Policy towards Members of Romani Community facilitating their
integration into the society includes a proposal to establish a Commission for
Ethnic Equality, a very important step. The plan to introduce the Czech
version of the affirmative action called "equalizing action",
focuses mainly on education and emphasizes the importance of educating
tolerance. The realization of the proposal is scheduled to take place between
2001-20.
One may conclude, that on the level of passing laws and
establishing governmental institutions, both countries have shown advancement
concerning the protection of national and ethnic minorities. Rights can be
enforced under three conditions:
1. Strong political pressure. This is not the case at the
moments, since the economical and social tension present in the countries in
the process of change, does not enhance the growth of solidarity among its
members. Contradicting political expectations often extinguish each other. The
question of Romas could only be properly dealt with adapting long term
programs. This, however, is extremely difficult to realize under the
circumstances, in which the power relations change in every 4 year. This
problem could be overcome by a strong legal system prescribing national
obligations. However, such a strong system is hardy reconcilable with the
tendency of weakening national role.
2. Strong international pressure. The intention of joining
the EU is strong enough in both countries to accept international laws and
norms. These norms, however, do not in themselves protect the rights of the
Roma. and the enforcement and measurement of these laws is not guaranteed. As
a common challenge, both Hungary and the Czech Republic have to meet the so
called Coppenhagen Entry - a condition of EU membership - which includes Human
Rights Protection.
3.Strong civil community and representation of the Roma. At
the moment, the Roma civil organisations, despite of their growing number, are
not strong enough. Due to their weak social position they do not represent the
needs of the Roma adequately. The general civil society in our countries does
not show solidarity with the discriminated. There are only a few non-Roma
organizations dealing with the Roma questions with very limited resources and
concentrating on the defined areas of the problem. Other social organizations
(churches, trade unions) are not visibly active on this field.
In spite of the introduced legislative measures, it is
clear that the labor market and the education are the basic areas where the
integration of the Romani minority can be realized. At the moment the position
of the majority and the minority is not equal in these fields. The
disadvantage of the Romani minority is socially based. The cultural
differences due to low education result in small chances for the Roma in the
labor market. The situation can only be solved by the active policy of the
state and other structures focusing on the chances of the Romani minority for
educational chances.
3. Exclusion in the Education system
3/A Structural Changes
In the Czech Republic and Hungary the general aim of
transformation and the intention of becoming part of the European Union have
called for various responses in the field of education:
- The recognition of pupils, or the right of ’their
parents’ to choose their educational path,
- The break up of the state monopoly on education by
allowing the establishment of private and denominational schools,
- The decentralization of the education system and
- The depolitization of education.
"However many of the changes that have occurred in the
economy and the society have widened the existing difference in access between
children from different background." (UNICEF, 1998, p.61) I am convinced,
that the free choice of schooling and even the decentralization, structural
changes that can be considered positive, at the same time contribute to
exclusion. Such changes – even if they provide more freedom – do not mean
much without equal access. Furthermore, within the state schools the symptom
of 'white flight' can be observed, meaning that those who can afford better
schools, take out their children from local schools where the children of the
poor (mostly Romas in both countries) are studying. Therefore, the most
disadvantaged schools are those located in the economically most disadvantaged
areas, working with the most disadvantaged students.
The fact that most gypsy children begin their schooling in subsidiary shools
‘provided’ by the education system, is a visible form of discrimination.
3/B Datas
In Hungary a significant number (75.000) of the Roma
children near school-age face segregation in schools. Fifty percent of
children attending correctional schools for the mentally handicapped are Roma,
most of them apparently without sound justification. Presently 36.547 child
attends some special school, 30-50% of them are estimated to be Roma.. In
several municipalities of Hungary the Roma children are obliged to attend
separate so-called Gypsy schools or special classes within the normal primary
school. The personnel and financial resources of schools with larger than the
average number of Roma pupils are generally worse than those of other schools,
and generally fewer classes are instructed by professionally trained teachers.
There exist financial incentives for parents with children in special schools.
In the current economic climate of Hungary, with 70% of Roma unemployed, such
payments for special schooling belong to the mechanism of substandard
schooling for the Roma. De facto segregation exist since the 1960’s when so
called "C-class" category was created for the children of
"socially deprived." In 1997 in 132 of the 840 normal schools
surveyed by sociologist Péter Radó, there were separate classes
predominantly of Roma. In 1996/97 only 7-8% of Roma children could attend
normal primary schools, and only 3% of them could enter secondary education,
which 1.5% would finish.
The same mechanism is relevant in the Czech Republic, where
the estimated number of Roma children between the age of 4-18 is 67.000, of
who approximately 62.5% attended special schools in 1997. The Czech data of
1990, which is considered to be relevant, despite the low number of Roma
declaring their ethnicity, shows that 80-85% of the Romani population have
basic education, mainly finished at special schools. As the ERRC report has
pointed out, Roma parents send their children to special schools in order to
receive a minimum level of education. 8.4% of Roma complete apprentice
schools, 1.2% high schools, and 0.3% universities. 5% of the Romani population
stays without any education. Therefore the core of integration lays in
education as a prerequisite of the comparable position of the minority in
other spheres of the life in the society.
In the table bellow I summarize the available data, knowing
that the figures are not really comparable, due to the difference
of their sources and measuring methods.
Hungary Czech Republic
Number of Roma children in the school
age
|
75,000
|
67.000
|
Percentage of Roma children
in the special schools
|
30-50%
|
62.5%
|
Romas completing high school
|
1.5%
|
1.2%
|
4. Experiments for the integration of disadvantaged
children into school
A summary of the strategies for the education of Roma in
the Czech Republic and Hungary
Problems and Solutions
At present, the 1989 resolution of the European Council is
the only legal means that treat the failure experienced in school. The decrees
of the resolution identify the problem to the member countries, and provide
practical measures against exclusion within school..These measures of growing
importance include pre-school education, teacher training, the better
profession orientation of pupils, and the establishment of contact with
partners.
In the two countries examined, various laws and orders have
been passed concerning the enforcement of the rights of the minority and the
equalization of discrimination in schools.
4/A Minority Schooling
There are two levels of minority schooling:1. Members of
the minority can learn about their own culture in their own language, meaning:
learning in the mother tongue,
bilingual education of minorities, follow up programs for Romas, and
intercultural education. These are allowed in both countries. The differences
on this field:
2. Members of the minority can learn every subject
in their language
In Hungary schools may receive special quotas after each
child who participates in ethnic programs, while this concept does not exists
in the Czech Republic.
In the Czech Republic however, some Roma assistants are
introduced to the education.
Problems:
- Non of the countries provide mother tongue education for Roma children.
The multicolored nature of the Gypsy language and its dialects, and the lack
of its written form are two of the many reasons of the above statement.
- Often the teachers are not prepared well enough for minority education,
not to mention the issue of prejudice. Furthermore, the number of Roma
teachers is limeted.
Textbooks, methodical and pedagogical programs are
available in a very limited amount.
- Minority programs in general are follow up courses for Roma students.
- The Roma parents are suspicious about minority programs.
- Only the elementary education of minorities is compulsory by law in
Hungary. On the request of the families, in case there are at least 8
Roma students, the school is obliged to start a separate class. Due to
financial shortages this initiative can not be met in most cases.
- The schools reflect the cultural values of the middle-class.
Concerning the measures of the minority programs, with special regard to those
of the Roma students, there is a lot to be elucidated. As long as the whole
teaching system does not reflect on intercultural relations and values of
Human Rights, minority programs will not form coherent parts of the school
curricula.
- Concerning the quota system in Hungary, the schools receive normative
support after the minority in order to maintain their minority education
through the local governments. In reality, however, in most cases this does
not mean more money for the school, as the local government redistributing
its budget, at the same time reduces the basic financial support of the
given school.
- As to the Roma assistant initiatives in the Czech Republic, one might
observe that the concept aims to help Roma children learn during lessons and
to keep contact between the school and the Roma parents., However, as a
consequence of the continuing lack of communication and systematic approach,
and as a sign of the absence of integration policy of the Romani community,
the position of Romani assistants has not been addressed satisfactorily. The
financial background of such teaching assistants is still not stabilized.
