The current rules governing the allocation of pupils to special schools lower their chances to achieve higher educational levels, Ombudswoman Jana Dubovcova warns in her special report due to be debated by the parliamentary Human and Minority Rights Committee on Tuesday. “These schools end up with a high number of children coming from socially-disadvantaged environments and most of them are of Roma origin. This way they are in fact excluded from the standard education process,” reads the report, which focuses on the 2012/2013 school year.
The report is based on Dubovcova's analysis carried out in 21 schools across Slovakia. A diagnostic test and the consent of parents placed 230 of all the pupils in the monitored facilities in classrooms specially designed for slower learners; 204 of them were Roma. The report includes the case the head teacher of the primary school in Sariske Michalany who ordered that only Roma pupils should sit the diagnostic tests.
The ombudswoman further noticed that once included in the system, it’s virtually impossible to leave it. None of the 21 monitored schools re-assessed and consequently transferred any of their pupils to normal classrooms no matter the progress they made. “There's a language barrier between the Roma children and their schools. This has an impact on their study results and may play a certain part in determining their special education needs,” said Dubovcova. She adds that it’s important to adopt new legislation that would remove any spatial, organisational, physical or symbolic separation of Roma pupils from non-Roma students based on ethnic origin.
