A Lesson in Discrimination. Segregation of Romani Children in Primary Education in Slovakia
A Lesson in Discrimination. Segregation of Romani Children in Primary Education in Slovakia

Author(s): Author Not Specified
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Education, Sociology, School education, Ethnic Minorities Studies, Sociology of Education
Published by: European Roma Rights Center
Keywords: ethnic school segregation; Roma in SLovakia;
Summary/Abstract: The European Roma Rights Centre and Amnesty International have been monitoring and researching Romani children’s access to education in Slovakia since 1996 and 2006, respectively. This joint report presents a bleak picture: the piecemeal reforms and periodic declarations of intent by successive governments cannot obscure the fact that the discrimination and segregation of Roma in primary education remains widespread and that the Slovak authorities are fundamentally failing to address them. Under national, European and international law, discrimination in the field of education is prohibited in Slovakia. However, in practice, Slovak authorities have not accompanied the ban on discrimination with concrete measures to address or prevent it. In the longer term, the failure to enforce the prohibition of discrimination in access to education has far-reaching consequences for thousands of Romani children who remain segregated in inferior education that traps them in a cycle of poverty and marginalization. Nominal prohibitions are worth little without concerted, proactive measures to address pervasive prejudice and structural flaws that facilitate discrimination and encourage segregation.

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