Gypsy child 27 times more likely to be in 'special' school
Written by Sean Sampson
Monday, 19 November 2007
Czech separate schooling illegal
Gypsy children in the Czech Republic must be taught in mainstream schools and not separately, the European Court of Human Rights decided last week.
The Strasbourg-based court found that the Czech authorities had discriminated against 18 Roma children in Ostrava (eastern Czech Republic) by educating them in schools for children with learning difficulties irrespective of their level of intelligence.
Discriminatory argument wins
Lawyers acting for the Roma litigants successfully argued that the practice of separate schooling was in violation of article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which bans discrimination.
“The court has made clear that racial discrimination has no place in 21st century Europe,” said James A. Goldston, counsel for the plaintiffs and executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative.
“Roma children must have the same access to quality education as everyone else,” he added.
Cosmetic changes won’t do
Although the Czech Republic has reformed its education system since the Roma first complained, there is widespread suspicion that the changes are merely cosmetic and that the practice continues with renamed schools. In its judgement the court noted that the practice is widespread in other European countries.
The court ordered the Czech government to pay each of the successful litigants EUR 4,000 in damages.
Gypsy children are 27 times more likely than other Czech citizens to end up being educated in a special school, according the European Roma Rights Centre. According to Viktória Móhácsi, an MEP, 60% of Roma children in Hungary are in segregated schooling.
Monday, 19 November 2007
Czech separate schooling illegal
Gypsy children in the Czech Republic must be taught in mainstream schools and not separately, the European Court of Human Rights decided last week.
The Strasbourg-based court found that the Czech authorities had discriminated against 18 Roma children in Ostrava (eastern Czech Republic) by educating them in schools for children with learning difficulties irrespective of their level of intelligence.
Discriminatory argument wins
Lawyers acting for the Roma litigants successfully argued that the practice of separate schooling was in violation of article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which bans discrimination.
“The court has made clear that racial discrimination has no place in 21st century Europe,” said James A. Goldston, counsel for the plaintiffs and executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative.
“Roma children must have the same access to quality education as everyone else,” he added.
Cosmetic changes won’t do
Although the Czech Republic has reformed its education system since the Roma first complained, there is widespread suspicion that the changes are merely cosmetic and that the practice continues with renamed schools. In its judgement the court noted that the practice is widespread in other European countries.
The court ordered the Czech government to pay each of the successful litigants EUR 4,000 in damages.
Gypsy children are 27 times more likely than other Czech citizens to end up being educated in a special school, according the European Roma Rights Centre. According to Viktória Móhácsi, an MEP, 60% of Roma children in Hungary are in segregated schooling.
Labels: Czech, Gypsy, Gypsy Children, Hungary, Roma
posted by Allie @ 4:39 PM
1 Comments:
At December 3, 2007 11:21 AM ,
Anonymous said...
hi There,
I mam Gypsy from Czech , co I know about his situations more and I hat same problem in first day in the school, but my father say "NO ", my daughter is not crazy, she is normal child, like every one. Thanks my father. You know, I never see some special school for black or white children. This is true text.
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