Mr. Taba Marius - Roma Education Fund, Hungary Thank you. We are aware that the Slovakian government try to improve the Roma situation but out of the statistics and the studies of the special schools the percentage of the Roma population in special education still remains the same. Of course, we are starting communication with the ministry of education and raise the issue of the special schools. And we are in the process of advising them. We are willing to provide our expertise that we have in our Fund. I would like also to raise your attention in regards to the traps that we might meet when developing the policies of Roma education. The first point it’s the approach of the state institution in regards to minority and cultural rights. These traps might lead sometime into the assimilation into the other minority issue. The other way of approaching the Roma issues is poverty. Working on Roma issue from the poverty perspective most of the time ignoring the discrimination and not providing real assistance. Treating Roma as a vulnerable group is another trap, in this case the policies are more focused on handicapping instead of building of the strengthening way that the Roma culture can contribute to the country, that Roma are living. Inclusion trap. In the inclusion I would like to say that most of the Roma issues are put in the same level, in the same basket with special needs children. The so-called based approach trap it seems from our experience that creating of magnet schools doesn’t work in the case of Roma. The parent involvement trap it seems from our experience that expanding the role of the school above the realistic limits sometimes we lose the basic role of the school in education. Of course, parents can contribute and help to communicate with the school but not to take burden from the school and to become service providers. School still has to play its role in our society. The quality of education trap – most of the time ignoring the integration so I don’t want to continue with the traps that we find out during our activities and I will submit to the secretariat. Thank you for your intervention.

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