MINELRES: ERRC Welcomes "Instruction for Integration of Minority Children and Pupils" by Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science

[MINELRES moderator]

Original sender: European Roma Rights Center <errc@errc.org>


ERRC welcomes the Instruction for Integration of Minority Children and
Pupils, issued by Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science, and sent
the following letter to the Minister today.


Mr Vladimir Atanassov
Minister of Education and Science of Bulgaria
September 12, 2002
Budapest

Honourable Minister Atanassov,

The European Roma Rights Center (ERRC), an international public interest
law organisation which monitors the situation of Roma in Europe and
provides legal defence in cases of human rights abuse, welcomes the
Instruction for Integration of Minority Children and Pupils issued by
your Ministry in September 2002 and believes that this document is a
good first step towards the elimination of the barriers for equal
education of the Romani children in Bulgaria. 

The ERRC notes that the following strategic tasks with respect to the
education of the Roma, stated in the Instruction, are coherent with the
international standards in the area of Romani education: "1. Preparation
for a process of taking the children and the pupils out of the school
facilities in the Romani neighbourhoods and ensuring equal access to
quality education; and 2. Elimination of the existing practice of
routing normally developed children to schools for children with mental
disability." 

The commitment of the Ministry of Education to eliminate the all-Romani
schools in the Romani neighbourhoods as well as to prevent segregation
of Romani children in the schools for children with mental disability is
commendable. The existence of inferior all-Romani schools and the
over-representation of Roma in the schools for children with mental
disability has inflicted a dramatic harm on the development of the
Romani community in Bulgaria over the past several decades. The
disparate treatment of Roma in education not only deprived Roma from
equal participation in social life but also deprived Bulgarian society
from realising its full potential. 

The awareness that the schools in the Romani neighbourhoods are a
barrier to the integration of Roma in Bulgarian society has prompted
several desegregation initiatives in Bulgaria in 2000-2002, led by
Romani non-governmental organisations. With their limited resources,
these organisations have achieved encouraging results in the integration
of Romani children in the mainstream schools, and these first
initiatives have received international recognition. We believe that the
models established by these organisations which have proven their
efficiency, will provide a stable basis for the Ministry�s strategy for
the integration of Roma in education.

The ERRC welcomes the decision of the Ministry of Education to set up a
Consultative Council on the  education of minority children and pupils
which will formulate a national strategy for integrated education. In
this regard, we express our willingness to help the work of the
Consultative Council with our expertise in the area of combatting
discrimination against Roma and promoting equal educational
opportunities for Roma.  

Finally, the ERRC hopes that the measures envisaged by the Instruction
for the Integration of Minority Children and Pupils will be implemented
without undue delay and in good cooperation with all interested sides,
primarily experts and activists from the Romani community in Bulgaria.

Sincerely,
Dimitrina Petrova,
Executive Director of the ERRC

_____________________________________________

The European Roma Rights Center is an international public interest law
organisation which monitors the rights of Roma and provides legal
defence in cases of human rights abuse. For more information about the
European Roma Rights Center, visit the ERRC on the web at
http://www.errc.org. 

European Roma Rights Center
1386 Budapest 62
P.O. Box 906/93
Hungary


Phone: +36 1 4132200
Fax:   +36 1 4132201

_____________________________________________

SUPPORT THE ERRC!

The European Roma Rights Center is dependent upon the generosity of
individual donors for its continued existence. If you believe the ERRC
performs a service valuable to the public, please join in enabling its
future with a contribution. Gifts of all sizes are welcome; bank
transfers are preferred. Please send your contribution to: 

European Roma Rights Center
Budapest Bank Rt.
99P00402686
1054 Budapest 
Bathory utca 1
Hungary

For correspondence, to subscribe and unsubscribe from this list, please
use office@errc.org.