New York Times visits previously segregated school in Slovakia

"A
microcosm of one of the biggest problems in Europe" – those are the words
used on the front page of The New York Times to describe a primary school
in Šarišské Michaľany, Slovakia. A reporter for the prestigious US newspaper
traveled to eastern Slovakia to report on the segregation of Romani children
there. Last year a court in Prešov ruled against segregation in the school.

Why? Until recently the school had run classes for dark-skinned children on the
first floor of the building and classes for white pupils on the ground floor. The school playground was also divided into
two separate sections for each kind of child.

The New York Times points out that "on the continent, which is facing
an economic crisis, growing unemployment, and outbursts of nationalist populism,”
people are battling similar problems as those addressed decades ago by the
United States. The paper reminds its readers that according to a World Bank
report about the situation of Romani people in Slovakia, it is more “reminiscent of a country in sub-Saharan Africa than a country in the
European Union".

On the basis of the Prešov District Court’s decision, the school was given 30
days to create new classes in which both non-Romani and Romani pupils would be
educated together. The court called the school’s behavior discriminatory. By
creating classes in which Romani pupils were educated separately, the school
violated the principle of equal treatment.

Last January
the school leadership rejected the first-instance court’s decision. “It would be unthinkable now that the school year is underway. It would be an enormous intervention
in the lives of the children and of the school. All of the parents are against
it, from both sides,” claimed then-school director Mária Cvancigerová.

“We are preparing an appeal. We insist we are not discriminating against
anyone,” Cvancigerová said. The primary school is attended by 430 pupils, more
than half of whom are Romani. Out of 22 classes, 12 were Romani-only. The
director said the division of the classes had taken place about three years
ago, prior to her hiring.

According to teachers at the school, children from Romani settlements often
lack basic hygiene habits, have difficulty speaking Slovak, come to school
hungry, and are unable to pay attention. The fact that they are now in classes
together with non-Romani children is reportedly facilitating their accelerated
progress.

Some white
parents previously expressed concerns that the “mixing” of pupils would lower
the quality of education and wanted to remove their children from the school.
All-Romani classes are a common practice in eastern Slovakia, but the
breakthrough verdict could inspire lawsuits against other schools.

In October 2012, an appeals court definitively confirmed that Romani children
must attend primary school classes together with non-Romani children. Any other arrangement is discriminatory. This was reportedly the first-ever
verdict about such a matter in Slovakia.

The Mayor of Šarišské Michaľany, Vincent Leššo, made no secret of his
disappointment after the verdict was announced: "I emphasized in my testimony that the
school does not have Romani classes. The fact that the judges worked with the
term ‘Romani’ is, in my view, what created the segregation. After this verdict,
Slovakia should now ask itself what level of education our current and future
pupils can hope to attain under these conditions.”

The anti-discrimination lawsuit was filed against the school by the
Counseling Center for Civil and Human Rights (PPOĽP), which reasoned that pupils of
Romani ethnicity were being segregated and the principle of equal treatment was
being violated. Vanda Durbáková, the legal representative of PPOĽP, said the
following to the daily SME after the verdict was announced: “This is a historically significant court
decision that could kick-start changes in our society toward equal treatment for
every child.”

Durbáková believes it is too early to say whether other lawsuits will be filed
against other schools that have created such classes. “However,” she said, “it
is true that this school is not an exception and that such practices are
common.” PPOĽP coordinator Štefan Ivanco said: “We
believe this decision will be a signal to other schools and that they will
realize it is not acceptable to segregate Romani children and educate them in
separate classes."