By David Sophrin
Impunity Watch Report, Europe
PRAGUE, Czech Republic – Discrimination against Roma children continues to exist in the the public educational system in the Czech Republic, according to Amnesty International.
The report by the international human rights watchdog indicated that it has become common practice in the Czech Republic for the children of Roma, or Gypsies, to be transferred by the government to schools designed to house those with mental disabilities. These schools, now known as ‘practical’ schools, offer limited academic opportunities. The limited opportunities result in many Roma becoming unable to receive the necessary vocational or academic skills to obtain adequate employment. Approximately fourth-fifths of the students in these alternative schools are of Roma descent, while only 2% of the children of the non-Romi majority attend.
The Europe program director for Amnesty International, Nicola Duckworth, has stated that “education is a way out of a vicious circle of poverty and marginalisation that affects a large part of the Roma population in the country. Unless the Czech authorities give them equal opportunities, they will be denying Romani children their chances for a better future and full participation in the life of the country.” The Amnesty International report, which studied four schools in the eastern portion of the country, calls for an immediate freeze on the placement of any student in the ‘practical’ schools in the 2010-2011 school year.
There are approximately 300,000 Roma in the Czech Republic, and over 8 million Roma in all of Europe, mostly in the center of the continent. The Roma have historically faced educational and work discrimination across Europe.
This report does not mark the first time a human rights group that attempted to push for a change regarding the treatment of Roma in the Czech school system. Over a dozen organizations, including the European Roma Rights Center, have sought to end the segregation that is resulting from the student transferring process. In 2007, as a result of a case brought by eighteen Roma, the European Court of Human Rights ordered the Czech Prague to discontinue this practice, amending the educational system if necessary. Amnesty International, in its report, stated that the changes made by the Czech government following the 2007 court ruling have not been sufficient.
The Czech government has offered no response to the conclusions drawn in the Amnesty International report.
For more information, please see:
SOFIA ECHO – Amnesty: End segregation in Czech schools – 14 January 2010
ROMEA – Amnesty International calls on Czech Republic to guarantee full education for all – 14 January 2010
AP – Report: Czechs Still Segregating Gypsy Kids – 13 January 2010
BBC – Amnesty says Czech schools still fail Roma Gypsies – 13 January 2010
FINANCIAL TIMES – Roma children segregated in Czech schools – 13 January 2010
