Czech Education Ministry presents measures to combat the segregation of Romani children
Measures meant to lead to lowering the proportion of Romani children attending special classes or schools and to lower the number of ethnically segregated schools are to be put in place by the Czech Education Ministry over the next two years. The measures involve, for example, reforms to the educational guidance counseling system and different kinds of support for primary and secondary schools.
The so-called Action Plan of measures was presented by Deputy Education Minister Jiří Nantl in March to a session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France. A recent report by Amnesty International criticizes the Czech Republic for not making progress in addressing the de facto segregation of Romani children in education, and the Action Plan was mentioned by the Education Ministry spokesperson, Tereza Fojtová, when the Czech News Agency (ČTK) asked them for comment.
“The measures touch on three areas, from support for schools, to reforming the guidance counseling system and ethnic desegregation. The aim is to lower the representation of Romani pupils in special schools and classes and ethnically segregated schools,” Fojtová wrote.
Adjustments to the financing system for primary and secondary schooling should be made by the measures. At the same time, financial, methodological and personnel support for schools should be established according to how many pupils who are socially disadvantaged are educated in them.
According to the ministry, the effectiveness and quality of educational counseling facilities should be increased. That should be achieved by beefing up the ministry’s options for administering such facilities.
The ministry also wants to focus on the capacities of the counseling facilities, according to the Action Plan. According to the ministry, the Czech state submitted the plan at the close of 2023.
According to the Action Plan, an amendment to the Act on Education should also be of aid. A bill has been drafted to introduce the requirement that educational counseling facilities serve the schools in a particular catchment area, and the ministry is about to incorporate comments made on that legislation.
Primary and secondary schools, according to the bill, would be required to arrange for counseling services, and both educational methodologists trained to prevent school dropout and guidance counselors would contribute to providing those services. Educational psychologists or special needs teachers would also contribute to the provision of educational counseling services in primary schools.
The bill would make sure that primary schools have the right to secure the services of such a psychologist or special needs teacher through the counseling office for their catchment area. The amendment also concentrates on adjusting the financing for primary and secondary schools.
Among other matters, the ministry will also collaborate with the National Institute for Education and the PAQ Research organization to create and disseminate a methodology to the establishers of schools on how to eliminate ethnic segregation. Representatives of those institutions signed a memorandum of cooperation in April.
According to the ministry, the methodology should support authorities at the level of municipalities, municipal departments and regions with analysis, consultation and education. Representatives of the ministry, the National Institute for Education and PAQ Research can already recommend the examples available on the website desegregace.cz to establishers and schools for creating instruments to combat ethnic segregation.
That website presents more than 40 specific interventions which will improve the quality of education in such a way that any pupil will be able to succeed in any school, according to the ministry.
