School as Ghetto (2009)

2009.09.29
School as Ghetto (2009)

This REF Working Paper provides, for the first time, a comprehensive picture of the overrepresentation of Roma in special education in Slovakia.



School as Ghetto, a Roma Education Fund Working Paper, provides, for the first time, a comprehensive picture of the overrepresentation of Roma in special education in Slovakia. The situation is as bad in Slovakia as in the Czech Republic, where the situation has been dramatically highlighted by the case D.H. and Others vs. the Czech Republic: approximately 60 percent of children in special education in Slovakia are Roma. It is clear that the vast majority of these children do not belong in special education.

 
The study demonstrates that special education is a losing proposition for young people – they cannot get gainful employmentand for the statethe lack of gainful employment means fewer taxes and higher spending. It also lays out the systemic features of special education in Slovakia which lead to the creation of ghettoes for Roma in special education. The report's recommendations therefore are mainly directed toward the Slovak government, so that these systemic features can be addressed.



Source: http://www.romaeducationfund.hu/publications/ (under "REF Studies and Research")