Czech
Republic:
More than 40 % of Romani children do not attend preschool
A Open Society Fund Prague has supported projects aiming
to educate children from socially excluded communities, as a high
percentage of children from such communities do not attend preschool and their
families’ complicated situations lead to their children’s inadequate
development. Many children from socially excluded localities do not attend
preschool, which influences their lack of success in primary school. This
increases the probability that these children will be placed into special
education, newly termed the “practical schools”, where their chances at
education and at finding good jobs as adults come to an end.
B “According to the Report on the State of the Romani
Minority in the Czech Republic more than 28 % of the pupils in the ‘practical
schools’ are Romani. Those schools are intended exclusively for children with
light mental disability,” says Robert Basch of the Open Society Fund Prague. “Preschool
education, which can equalize the initial handicaps of children coming
from disadvantaged environments, is difficult for Romani children to access,”
Basch says. However, around 40 % of Romani children in the Czech Republic
never attend preschool.
C One solution is to work with Romani children directly
in their homes and at parents’ centers, which can substitute state-run
preschool facilities. At the centers, children can perfect their language and
speech skills, train their attention, fine motor skills and memory, and
practice basic tasks such as using buttons and tying shoelaces. “Experience
from programs abroad shows that the earlier such work begins, the better
chances such children have of becoming integrated into mainstream education,”
explains Filip Rameš of Open Society Fund Prague.
D “In order for aid to Romani children to succeed, it
must also focus on their parents so they can manage to ensure their children
enjoy conditions for healthy development and are not exposed to the risk of
social exclusion in adulthood,” Rameš says. This intervention method is
financially the most advantageous. The highest return on investment occurs with
children under three.
E These arguments were presented at a conference in Ostrava. The conference
was an opportunity to find a solution for preventing the repetition of the
discrimination of Romani children in the Czech schools, discrimination to which
the current generation’s parents were also exposed. The conference was held by
Open Society Fund Prague in collaboration with Ostrava City Hall
and the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion.
1) Read the article and match each of the headings to
a paragraph.
1 Romani
children might be educated at home or at parents’ centres
2 Children
from socially excluded localities do not attend preschools
3 These
solutions were spoken about at a conference
4 This
method is financially convenient
5 More than
a quarter of pupils in practical schools are Romani
2) Read the article and answer the questions.
1 What does
Open Society Fund do?
2 What are
problems of Roma children?
3 How can
the problems be solved?
4 How can
Romani parents contribute to the solution of the situation?
5 What kind
of conference took place in Ostrava?
3) Explain the following words and phrases.
1 children from socially excluded
communities
2 practical schools
3 equalize the initial handicaps of
children
4 fine motor skills
5 integrate into mainstream education
4) Answer the following questions.
What are socially excluded localities? What are their
typical problems? Who helps the people there? How does our school cooperate
with Roma children? What is the difference between mainstream and practical
schools? How are Roma preschoolers supported to attend mainstream schools?
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