London - Amnesty International Thursday called on the authorities in Slovakia to take "swift measures" to end what it described as the "educational segregation" of children of Romany origin. Amnesty's report said huge numbers of Romany children were still being placed "in special schools and classes for children with mental disabilities and learning difficulties, or segregated in Roma-only mainstream schools across the country."
Romany children placed "unnecessarily" in special schools were given a reduced curriculum and had practically no possibilities of reintegrating into mainstream schools or advancing to secondary education, Amnesty said.
The report calls on the authorities of Slovakia to "state loud and clear their determination to eradicate segregation in the education of Romany children and to take swift measures to reverse it."
"Regardless of their individual abilities, many Romany children receive a substandard education in segregated classes," said Nicola Duckworth, Europe and Central Asia programme director for Amnesty.
The failure of the government to provide adequate education for all Romany children blighted future employment prospects, and added to a "cycle of marginalization and poverty for Roma people."
According to Amnesty, evaluations had shown that up to 50 per cent of Romany children in special schools or classes had been placed there erroneously.
"A child living in a shack with no electricity or running water in the middle of nowhere will not know how to flush a toilet or use a bathroom. Such a child would not know how to hold a pencil or draw a picture or speak Slovak, but this should not deprive them of their basic right to proper education," Duckworth said.
The widespread existence of Roma-only schools and classes was a further concern, the report said. In some parts of eastern Slovakia, 100 per cent of schools were segregated.
The right of parents to choose their child's school appeared "neutral," but in reality it contributed to segregation, Amnesty said.
Parental choice, coupled with the lack of free transportation for Romany children to school had influenced segregation and radically reduced interaction between Roma and other children in Slovakia.
Although the government of Slovakia insisted that segregation was not official government policy, it had so far failed to "genuinely commit to stopping it," Amnesty said.
