Slovakia should revise and rework the whole system of re-educating young people at special facilities for children and youth with behavioural problems, Ombudswoman Jana Dubovcova stated at a press conference on Thursday, referring to the outcomes of a probe into the way these facilities are run across Slovakia.
Dubovcova emphasised that the centres aren't supposed to be places where young people serve sentences, but facilities where they are provided with better conditions for education and upbringing than at home. “I'm not sure whether this system in its current form is capable of meeting this task,” said the ombudswoman. The probe was carried out at six facilities for kids with behaviour problems in Hlohovec (Trnava region), Solosnica (Bratislava region), Backove (Kosice region), Spissky Hrhov (Kosice region), Cerencany (Banska Bystrica region), and Zlate Moravce (Nitra region) during the course of 2013 and between March-May 2014. The aim of the project was to find out whether the young people sent to these facilities have their personal freedoms and rights restricted in any way.
