The annual report of Amnesty International (AI), a human rights’ watchdog, criticises Slovakia for segregation of Roma and non-Roma children that it wrote starts as early as nursery school, the Sme daily wrote on May 24.
Martina Mazúrová, head of the Slovak office of AI, said that it was the rights of Roma youths to education are being violated. AI wrote that the most recent case comes from Levoča where Roma-only classes were started last September for the first time. The headmaster of the school, Peter Tatarko, refused to comment on classes at his school.
Amnesty International wants to discuss the issue with town representatives, with Mazúrová adding that the situation at this school might be just the tip of an iceberg as the Slovak government does not gather data on schools based on ethnicity so it is difficult to analyse the situation.
A large poll among 22,000 Europeans indicated that Slovakia was worst from among central-European countries in educating young Roma. Pollsters from the EU’s Agency for Fundamental Rights found that only about 20 percent of Roma under age 24 from settlements in Slovakia have graduated from some type of secondary school even though 90 percent of non-Roma from the same age group have received a secondary-school education.
Source: Sme
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
