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.