Description of the situation

The data on the education structure of the Roma community members show low education level, since the majority of them did not finish the primary school (more than 65 percent of the Roma community members, out of which 60 percent males and 70 percent females) (data of the 2002 Population Census from the General Information on the Roma ethnic community in the Republic of Slovenia, 2006).

In the 2007/2008 school year, there were 1,658 Roma pupils attending primary schools. There are no homogeneous school departments with only Roma children.

Within the scope of the PISR project (Vocational Informing and Advising for Roma People) there was an extensive research conducted on the educational and vocational interests of the Roma in 2006. There was a population of daily-active Roma selected from the areas of Dolenjska, Bela Krajina, Posavje, Kočevje and Grospuplje. The research was carried out on the sample of 774 Roma aged between 15 and 45. It showed that 80 percent of the respondents did not finish primary school and only 0.6 percent of them have managed to obtain a vocational or secondary education. Over 90 percent of them are unemployed, while 45 percent of them express their willingness to participate in vocational education programmes despite the existing obstacles and difficulties. The PISR research indicated that 60 percent of the Roma in the area of the survey are satisfied with their situation and do not want to educate and employ themselves. This is definitively a challenge for the Roma as well as for the experts in their endeavours for a larger participation of the Roma in education programmes as a necessary prerequisite for their successful integration and dealing with their marginal position in the society.

In 2004, the Strategy for Education of Roma in the Republic of Slovenia (hereinafter referred to as: the Strategy) was adopted and amended in 2011 and it serves as a basis for further measures in the field of education and schooling of the Roma population. The Strategy determines the starting-points, principles, objectives and fundamental solutions for a more successful integration of the Roma into education and schooling at all levels.

In recent years, the following activities from the Strategy were carried out:

- the optional school subject Roma Culture was adopted;

- the vocational standard Roma Assistant was adopted;

- the programmes of intercultural co-existence (the Roma Union of Slovenia) were prepared and executed on the annual basis;

- the materials are published in the Roma language;

- expert consultations were conducted on the topic of successful integration of Roma pupils into the system of education and schooling;

- seminars for teachers are organised every year within the scope of the advanced expert education;

- a network of schools is established where the Roma pupils are integrated, with the purpose to share the experience, examples of good practices (National Education Institute of the Republic of Slovenia, Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Vocational Education and Training).

References:

KOVAČ ŠEBART, M. - KREK, J. 2003. Romi v Sloveniji: vprašanja izobraževanja, multikulturalizma in integracije. V: Sodobna pedagogika, letnik 54, št. 1, p. 28-43. ISSN 0038-0474

KREK, J. – METLJAK, M. (ur.) 2011. Bela knjiga o vzgoji in izobraževanju v Republiki Sloveniji 2011. Ljubljana: Ministrstvo za šolstvo in šport. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut, 2011. 518 p. ISBN 978-961-270-089-8

BEŠTER, R. - MEDVEŠEK, M. 2007. Education of the Roma Children in Slovenia. Evaluation of the Education Policy Defined in National Action Plan on Social Inclusion 2004-2006. V: Komac, M. (ur.), Varga, R. (ur.), 2007. Social Inclusion of Roma: Stories from Finland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Portugal. Ljubljana: Inštitut za narodnostna vprašanja, 2007. p. 129-183. ISBN 978-961-6159-29-6

BREZOVŠEK, M. 2008. Reševanje romske problematike v Sloveniji s poudarkom na socialni inkluzivnosti Romov v šolski sistem. Ljubljana: FDV, Inštitut za družbene vede, 2008