The Right to Education for Every Child:

Removing Barriers and Fostering Inclusion for Roma Children

Feedback on Outcome Document

1

Structure of document: 6 problem areas

Early education: access

School & classroom environment: quality

Integrated education: no discrimination & segregation

Appropriate financing: abolishing wrong incentives

Monitoring discrimination in education

Secondary and tertiary education: access to employment

Process

Workshop discussions collected

Outcome document reviewed throughout Conference

Additional feedback received electronically by June 10th

Document finalized June 15th

Document submitted for adoption at the

Decade Steering Committee meeting June 26th

Process

• Collected inputs from 8 workshops

• Task force (REF, UNICEF, Roma NGO and MoE Serbia)

General impressions

1. There is huge experience gathered on each problem area in each of the Decade countries

– Visible progress in the way issues addressed from launch of Decade 2005

– Quality of discussion in several working groups was exceptionally high

– Stock taking of this experience was overdue

– Sound basis for elaborating guidelines and policies for future

General impressions

However:Experience seems to be scattered across

• different countries• different projects/programs

Too often, there is a policy– practice mismatch• Policies are not informed by evidence• Projects are not designed so that they can become

policies• Some good practice that could be taken to scale are

not.

Hence better coordination inside countries and between int’l agencies is desperately needed. Need to share expertise and build capacity of public administrations.

Impressions contd.

• Some issues remain unresolved – explicit ethnic targeting or social

disadantaged or poverty– data collection in terms identification

• Some issues not discussed

• Some new issues emerged

The Outcome Document

• There is a general consensus about need for one document capturing all recommendations

• The workshops produced rich inputs for elaborating the document– Specific thematic amendments were

suggested– Overarching themes identified

Overarching themes• Need to strengthen the rights perspective:

– Take anti-discrimination legislation seriously in education and health

– Education/ awareness on human rights and the rights of the child

– Develop bylaws, ensure inspection…,– See financing in rights perspective

• We are now in a phase of ‘systemic change’ , beyond ‘pilots’. The document can help push governments towards this agenda. Governments will need to set priorities and identify costs of changes

Overarching themes

• Teachers at all levels– Strengthen their capacities for working

in multicultural settings with sensitivity, respect, and ability to recognize the assets Roma children and parents bring

– Embed multicultural education in pre- and in-service training instead of crash courses or optional modules

– Put in place higher education policies which will ensure teachers, educators, mediators of Roma origin

Overarching themes

• The need for evidence to underpin policy, measure progress and ensure accountability

• Partnerships have evolved. Still asymmetry, especially participation of Roma in programme design and decision making process. Critical for progress.

• Many of the recommendations are about developing good schools. Good schools are good for Roma. There is also need, however, for Roma targeted action which needs to be brought out in recommendations

Overarching themes

• Solutions do not lie in education alone. Education change needs to pull in changes in other sectors

• Attitudes of the majority are part of the

problem. We don’t yet have the tools for changing majority mindsets

• Each country needs to take responsibility for finding local solutions based on shared principles, good practice, and monitoring progress.

Major Amendments to Text

Theme 1: Starting early and fostering inclusion

• Highlighted the need to focus on the 0-3yr period, as a foundation and the link to the formal system. – This requires interministerial coordination ( Health,

Education, Social Protection…)– Recognise that capacities different actors still weak

• Centrality of mothers empowerment, for her childs development and her own life

• Challenge of the transition of services provided in home to services in institutions ( steps in Roma /Non Roma integration..)

• Strengthen recommendations on need for fundamental change in current system of testing and placement of Roma children

• All Decade countries should take all necessary legal, financial and administrative steps to end segregation. With an ‘effective’ resourced plan

• But, different forms of segregation need to be recognised and require different responses.

• Countries need to pay attention to building political will.

Theme 2 : Ending segregation, fostering inclusion

Theme 3: Supportive Classroom and School Environment

• Focus on whole school/school management not just teachers

• Need to say something about policy/structural incentives for new behaviors

• Draw out link to desegregation

• Should be more strategic; especially those areas specific to challenges Roma face rather than general ‘quality schools’ issues

• Rights to learn in minority language need to be observed (not optional)

Theme 4: Public financing of inclusive education

• Education as an investment in social and economic progress not an expenditure

• Ensure adequate public financing for pre-school

• Increase priority for Roma issues within existing funding sources (budget, EU funds)

• Be cautious a bout demand-side mechanisms (e.g., CCTs). They must not fuel segregation/stigmatisation and must be contingent upon addressing supply-side issues

Social benefits

Personal benefits

teachers

efficient

equitable

accountable

regulated

participatory

textbooks curriculum

financing managementassessment evaluation

SCHOOL

Research

Development Policies

2025

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The Way Forward?

• Please send your comments on the draft Outcome Document and this summary of the working groups to: Aleksandra Jovic