The "Flower of Seven Colours" in the town of Marcali

Education of the Roma in Central and Eastern Europe: Trends and Challenges

By Dena Ringold, The World Bank, Washington D.C.
Source: This paper is a revised version of a paper presented at the European Regional Education For All Conference, Warsaw, Poland, February 7, 2000. It is excerpted from a larger report on Roma published by the World Bank, Roma and the Transition in Central and Eastern Europe (Ringold, 2000).

1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
Roma, or 'gypsies,' are a unique minority in Europe. Unlike other groups, Roma have no historical homeland and are found in nearly all countries in Europe and Central Asia. Historical documents and legends trace Roma origins to northern India, and records indicate that they came to Europe in waves of migration between the ninth and fourteenth centuries (Crowe, 1996). Increasing evidence suggests that Roma in Central and Eastern Europe have disproportionately suffered the adverse affects of the transition from socialism. Roma workers were frequently among the first to lose their jobs at the outset of restructuring and, for various reasons, including low educational status, have faced significant barriers to reentering the labor force and increasing impoverishment.
Despite these developments, information on living conditions among Roma and the challenges they face is scarce and frequently anecdotal. Recent poverty assessments by the World Bank and others, indicate that Roma are over represented among the poorest households. As an example, analysis of a 1997 household survey in Bulgaria found over 84 percent to be Roma were living below the poverty line - in comparison with the national poverty rate of 36 percent (World Bank, 1999a). Similarly striking, data for Hungary found that one-third of the long-term poor (households which were poor four or more times between 1992-97) were Roma, although they comprise about only 5 percent of the population (World Bank, 2000b).
These findings, alongside a growing body of qualitative evidence of deteriorating living conditions, have raised attention within countries and among the international community. A key issue which is emphasized repeatedly is that of education among the Roma. Evidence of low and declining levels of education among Roma children is a serious development with clear future implications. Lack of access to education jeopardizes future labor market opportunities and the ability of individuals to move, and remain out of poverty.
This paper seeks to bring together the available quantitative evidence from secondary sources and household surveys to assess the extent of the access problem among the Roma, and to identify possible constraints and policy options. It also draws upon evidence from three recent qualitative studies of living conditions among Roma communities in Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. Section II of the paper discusses these data sources in more detail; Section III discusses the demographic context and different estimates of the size of the Roma community; Section IV presents the evidence on educational status and access; Section V explores constraints to access; and finally, Section VI examines some preliminary lessons for policy. This paper is part of an on-going research initiative on Roma by the World Bank. Subsequent phases of the work will look further in depth at the range of programs and policies of governments and NGOs in this area, with the objective of distilling more concrete lessons and policy directions than are provided here.

II. METHODOLOGY AND MEASUREMENT CONSTRAINTS
Data on human development status in the transition countries of Central and Eastern Europe are plagued with problems and pitfalls. However, these issues appear almost insignificant in comparison with the challenge of measuring developments among the Roma. Seemingly straightforward questions, such as estimating the size of the population within a country, prove extremely challenging. Household surveys and censuses often do not distinguish respondents by ethnicity, and even when ethnicity is included, a range of issues arise, including undersampling of areas where Roma are likely to reside, difficulties in locating and identifying populations which may not be officially registered, and problems with self-reporting. Roma may opt not to self-identify for various reasons, such as fear of discrimination (Druker, 1997; Liebich, 1992).
Different approaches among surveys frequently yield contrasting results and impede comparability of data. For example, some household surveys ask respondents to identify their ethnicity, while others ask the interviewer to indicate the ethnicity, still others determine ethnicity by asking about the respondent's native language. The latter approach may underestimate results for Roma, as many do not speak Roma dialects. Still other obstacles exist to the analysis of administrative data, such as education and labor market statistics. In recent years, a number of countries have stopped collecting data by ethnicity for privacy reasons. For example, Czechoslovakia stopped collecting data on students by ethnicity in 1990, and Hungary in the 1993 school year (ERRC, 1999; Rado, 1997).
Yet another unique challenge of research on Roma is the legacy of biased research. A number of early studies of the Roma in the late nineteenth century in western European countries were racially motivated and sought to confirm theories about genetic inferiority (Fraser, 1995). A review of work on Roma health in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic found more recent works with a social Darwinist and racially biased slant (ECOHOST, 2000). More recently, scholarship on Roma may suffer from the political nature of the issue. Roma leaders and activists have an interest in portraying the situation as worse that it may actually be, while on the other hand, government reports may gloss over issues and present a more favorable picture (Barany, 2000).
Analysis of ethnic minorities is a challenging task, which raises fundamental questions about ethnicity and identity. Some Roma may not consider themselves Roma or may affiliate with a different ethnic group. An ethnic Roma living in Hungary may feel more Hungarian than Roma, or vice-versa. For the purposes of this paper, Roma are defined broadly to include those who identify themselves as Roma, and those who are identified by others as Roma. This is both because of the collection of data sources used, and because of the policy focus of this paper - if policies impact ethnic minorities, they may do so regardless of personal identity.
A further caveat is warranted regarding the difficulty of drawing conclusions about Roma in general. The diversity of the 'community' is a distinguishing feature, which impedes generalizations at the regional and country level. There are numerous different groups and sub-groups of Roma. Researchers have identified 60 different groups in Bulgaria. In contrast, there are three main groups in Hungary. In addition to these ethnic differences, there is significant diversity among Roma settlements: rural/urban, assimilated/non-assimilated, homogenous/heterogeneous, as well as affiliations with different religious denominations. Some groups speak variations of the Roma language, others do not, and so forth. For analytical purposes, this report assumes some commonalties across countries and groups, but conclusions are necessarily tentative.
As this report relies on a patchwork of data sources, including data calculated directly from household surveys, administrative data, results reported from other surveys cited in the literature, and original qualitative research, the reader should proceed with caution. Many of the results may not be comparable across countries because of differing methodologies.

Box 1: Recent Qualitative Studies
In order to get a more complete picture of living conditions and issues facing Roma communities in the region, the World Bank supported three independent studies conducted by local researchers in Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary in 1999. The studies focus on case studies of Roma settlements and, in the case of the Hungary study, schools. The following briefly describes the studies, their scope, objectives and methods.
Romania, 9 Case Studies (team leader, C. Rughinis): This study was undertaken in conjunction with a larger study of social service delivery at the local level in Romania. It aimed to assess the human development issues facing different types of Roma communities, and the capacity of local governments and social service providers (health, education and social assistance cash benefits and services) to address these needs. In-depth interviews were conducted with Roma, social service professionals, local government officials and other key informants such as NGO project managers and religious leaders. The case studies were done in settlements in six districts: Bucharest, Tulcea, Vaslui, Covasna, Hunedoara and Timis. Sites were selected to represent diverse types of settlements including: rural/urban environments, differences in Roma subgroups (Rudari/Lingurari, Caldarari, Spoitori, Ursari, etc.), integrated and non-integrated communities, relations with other ethnic minorities (e.g. Hungarians), and areas with a high/low degree of NGO activity.
Bulgaria, 6 Case Studies (team leader, I. Tomova): Similar to the Romania study, the work in Bulgaria was done in tandem with a larger study on the impact of fiscal decentralization on social services (health, education and social assistance cash transfers). The study relied on in-depth interviews and focus groups with Roma, service providers, local officials and NGO leaders. In addition, the researchers conducted a quantitative survey of 831 Roma households. The case studies were conducted in three districts: Sofia Region, Sliven and Kardzhali. Individual sites were selected to reflect a diverse mix of characteristics including: rural/urban environments, ethnic diversity (e.g. Roma sub-groups and presence of other minorities including Bulgarian Turks and Pomaks, socioeconomic characteristics (e.g. areas impacted by economic restructuring), and local government capacity.
Hungary, Evaluation of Alternative Secondary Schools (team leader, E. Orsos): This study aimed to evaluate the experience of six recently established secondary schools for Roma students in Hungary. Although differing significantly in approach and organization, the schools all aim to assist Roma students in successfully completing secondary school and continuing on to further education and employment. Quantitative data were collected for all institutions, and in depth interviews were conducted with school directors, teachers, parents and students.

III. POPULATION AND DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS
Seeming straightforward questions, such as estimating the size of the Roma population are quite difficult and controversial. Estimates from different sources vary widely (table 1). The most frequently cited numbers are those of Jean-Pierre Liegeois, which are based upon the estimates of local experts, such as Roma community leaders and local government officials. From 7 to 9 million Roma are thought to live throughout the countries of Europe, with over two-thirds of the group living in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Because of data constraints, this paper focuses on five countries of Central and Eastern Europe: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, and the Slovak Republic.

Census data are hotly disputed and generally found to underestimate significantly the Roma population. As an example, the 1992 census in Bulgaria estimated the population at 313,326, while generally accepted figures (based upon Liegeois surveys) range from 500,000-800,000. Similarly, the 1992 census in Romania put the population at 400,000 while current estimates are between 1,410,000-2,500,0000.
Due to the issues discussed previously, census data are controversial and generally thought to underestimate significantly the Roma population. Attempts to measure the population through household surveys are similarly problematic. The share of individuals identifying as Roma in the surveys is significantly less than conventionally accepted estimates. For example, in the household surveys for Romania, which are based upon a nationally representative sample, only about 2 percent of the population identifies as Roma, while the share of Roma in the total population is thought to be nearly 10 percent. The survey addresses ethnicity in two ways: first, through a direct question on nationality, and second, by asking the interviewee's native language. The share identifying as Roma in both questions has been consistent each year in the survey. Similar problems are found with the surveys for Bulgaria and Hungary used for this report.
Because of historical factors and the great variations in types of Roma communities (e.g. assimilated/isolated, rural/urban), settlement patterns of Roma within countries vary widely. Populations are unevenly distributed across regions. In Hungary, the greatest share of the Roma population live in the North, East and South-Transdanubia regions (Kemeny and Havas, 1994). In the Czech Republic the majority are in northern Moravia, especially in the Ostrava region, Prague, North, South and Western Bohemia, and around Brno. In the Slovak Republic most Roma live in Eastern Slovakia (ECOHOST, 2000).

Fertility and demographic trends
Demographic patterns among Roma provide a striking contrast to that of non-Roma populations in the region. Because of higher birth rates and lower life expectancy, the Roma community is significantly younger than other population groups. Data for Hungary illustrate this phenomenon. In 1993, 39 percent of the Roma population was under 14 years old, while only 19 percent of the total population fell into this age group (figure 1). In contrast, 19 percent of the total population was over 60, while only 5 percent of Roma fell into this category. Birth rates among Roma are much higher than those of other groups. The same study of Hungary found that birth rates for Roma were 32, in contrast with 15 for the rest of the country (Kemeny, 1994).
Figure 1: Hungary, Population by Age, 1993

Evidence on demographic trends for Roma during the transition period is mixed. While overall fertility has declined significantly in Central and Eastern Europe, it is not clear whether this holds true for the Roma population as well. Evidence from Hungary suggests that fertility has dropped in some Roma communities (Puporka and Zadori, 1999), while the qualitative study in Bulgaria found that birth rates were increasing among the poorer subgroups of Roma (Tomova, 2000). Despite these contrasting messages, the available data suggest that regardless of declining trends, Roma families remain larger than other groups.
These developments require close monitoring for education policy to ensure that the demand for education among Roma communities is met. Dramatic demographic trends have led countries to review the availability of schools and teachers within their education systems. For example, in Bulgaria, which has experienced the largest drop in fertility rates of any country in the region during the transition period, the Ministry of Education is assessing the supply of school facilities and teachers across the country. As the system is characterized by an oversupply of facilities and personnel, this will likely lead to necessary school closures. However, the selection of schools to be closed requires careful consideration because of the differing age structures of communities.

IV. EDUCATION STATUS
Education status of Roma has historically been low across Europe. While significant gains were made in enrolling children during the socialist era, the gap in the educational attainment of Roma and the rest of the population was not bridged in any of the countries for which data are available. Limited evidence suggests that access has eroded during the transition period, and children of basic school age are increasingly not starting or finishing school. These trends are consistent with national level developments in enrollments, however, data suggest that the decline in access among Roma has been deeper than for the rest of the population (UNICEF, 1998).
Access in the socialist era
Gaps in access to education among the Roma are not a new phenomenon. It was not until the socialist regimes took over in Central and Eastern Europe following World War II, that large numbers of Roma began to participate in public compulsory education. Across the region, the socialist governments made a concerted effort to integrate and assimilate Roma into mainstream society. Communist parties issued decrees and adopted policies which aimed at providing basic services, including housing and jobs for Roma. Education was a key element of these campaigns, and was viewed as an instrument of political and economic socialization which would facilitate the integration of the Roma into the full employment state.
For example, an assimilation campaign undertaken in Czechoslovakia in 1971 sought to combat illiteracy and increase school attendance. This effort increased the enrollment rate in kindergartens from 10 percent to 59 percent by 1980. At the same time, the share of Roma finishing compulsory education increased from 17 to 26 percent and literacy rates rose to 90 percent among adults. Similarly, in 1983 the Romanian Communist Party instructed the Ministry of Education to undertake an aggressive campaign to promote attendance among the Roma. Parallel campaigns were launched in Hungary and Bulgaria in the 1960s (Crowe, 1996).
Despite the achievements in reducing literacy and increasing school participation, the efforts undertaken during the socialist era laid the foundation for inequities in education quality which have persisted in the post-socialist period. In many cases, Roma were channeled into segregated schools outside of the mainstream system, which were intended for children with mental and physical disabilities. For example, the education campaign initiated in Hungary in the 1960's focussed on creating "special classes...within the national school system for retarded or difficult children." This led to a disproportionate number of Roma enrolled in special classes in schools. Estimates suggest that in the 1970s 15 percent of Roma school children were in schools for the handicapped. Similar developments are reported for children in Czechoslovakia (Crowe, 1996). The practice of enrolling Roma in special schools has continued following the transition and will be discussed further below.
Educational attainment in the transition period
Gaps in education status persist in the transition period and are most evident in analysis of the educational levels of the population. Comparable surveys conducted in Hungary in 1971 and 1993 illustrate trends. In 1971, about 26 percent of Roma aged 20-29 had finished 8 years of primary school, this had increased to over 77 percent by 1993 (Kemeny, Havas, Kertesi, 1994). Despite these achievements, educational attainment of Roma lagged significantly behind the non-Roma population, with Roma much less likely to continue on to secondary and post-secondary education than the rest of the population.
Household surveys for Bulgaria and Romania highlight a similar situation (figures 2 and 3). Although the data are not directly comparable between the countries because of differences in the definition of education levels, they do illustrate common patterns. In both countries, the share of Roma who do not attend school is much higher than that of the total population, and the share of the Roma who continue education beyond the compulsory basic education cycle is dramatically lower than the rest of the population. In Bulgaria only 6 percent of Roma had completed secondary education, in comparison with 40 percent of the total population. In both countries, the numbers of Roma who had completed university education was miniscule. Only two individuals sampled in the 1997 survey had completed university in Romania and 3 in the Bulgaria surveys. Trends at the secondary and post-secondary level reflect the legacy of socialist era policies, as students completing the secondary cycle in 1997 entered school at the end of the 1980s.
Figures 2 and 3: Bulgaria and Romania, Highest Level of Education Attained (% of population group)

It is not surprising that education levels vary notably within countries, between urban and rural areas, and across different types of Roma communities. In Hungary, for example, the 1993 survey mentioned above found that the share of Roma who had not completed primary education was 16 percent in Budapest, 24 percent in towns and 27 percent in villages, reflecting the different types of constraints to access in each of the areas (Puporka and Zadori, 1999).
Differences between types of Roma are also important. For example, the same survey found that the share of Roma with less than basic education was 23 percent for the Romungro Roma, whose native language is Hungarian, 42 percent for the Bayash, native language Romanian, and 48 percent for the Wallach Romas whose native language is Roma (Puporka and Zadori, 1999). A similar finding of variation across sub-groups was noted in Bulgaria. For example, Roma from the Dzhorevtsi sub-group who are descendants of mixed marriages of Bulgarians and Roma generally have higher education levels than other groups (Tomova, 2000).
Information on educational attainment by gender is scarce and patterns are not clear. Results from a 1998 survey in Romania indicated lower levels of education for women than for men (Rughinis, 2000). Women were less likely to have gone on to secondary school and university than men. The qualitative study for Bulgaria, conducted in 8 settlements in the country illustrated a similar pattern, women were much less likely to have gone to school - 29 percent had never gone to school or had dropped out before finishing grade 4, in comparison with 11 percent of men - and were also less likely to have continued on to upper secondary school (figure 4). Evidence from qualitative studies suggests that girls drop out of school earlier than boys because of early marriage and child birth.

Figure 4: Bulgaria: Educational Attainment of Roma by Gender in 8 Settlements

Low education levels among Roma reflect problems of access to education. There have been increasing reports of declining school attendance among Roma children during the transition and this is reflected in the available data. While the education structure of the total population did not change significantly over the two survey years in Romania, for Roma the share of the population that had not completed basic school education grew from 36 percent in 1994 to 44 percent in 1998. This development reflects decreasing trends in school participation among school age children, as the economic constraints to school attendance among Roma children have grown during the transition period. The barriers to school attendance are discussed further in the next chapter. Time series data on attendance are not available for Romania between the two years, but 1994 data on attendance highlight the gap between the Roma and the rest of the population. 41 percent of Roma children age 7-14 were not attending school, in contrast with 7 percent for the whole population.
Pre-primary attendance may have been most significantly affected during the transition period. In general, pre-school and kindergarten enrollment rates have fallen across the region, as state subsidies for schools connected to enterprises were withdrawn and fees were introduced (UNICEF, 1998). Growing costs have discouraged parents from sending children to school. Data for the Slovak Republic highlight the deterioration, in 1990 80 percent of Roma children aged 3-6 attended pre-school. This dropped by 60 percent in the 1991 school year, and by 1997 less than 20 percent of Roma children were thought to attend (Slovak Ministry of Labor, 1997). In Hungary, where pre-school is compulsory for all children at age 5, 11 percent of Roma did not attend school in 1997 (Rado, 1997). This is a serious development, as children who do not start preschool are less likely to attend primary school, and may have more difficulty remaining in school. For Roma children, these issues are compounded by the fact that many do not speak the national language at home and, as a result, begin primary school at a disadvantage.
As illustrated in the breakdown of the educational status of the population, the gulf between levels of education is wider for Roma than non-Roma, indicating the challenges of moving from one level of education to the other. Limited evidence suggests that drop-out rates have been increasing during the transition period, and disproportionately for Roma children (UNICEF, 1998). Informal estimates for Bulgaria suggest that most of the 45,000 students who drop out of school each year are Roma.
Drop-outs are most common at the 'breaking points' in the school cycle, when students transfer schools, or when the educational cycle changes. The figures for Hungary illustrate this. While in 1995 62 percent of students continued from primary to secondary school, only 9 percent of Roma did so (Rado, 1997). Findings from the qualitative study for Romania found that the share of Roma students in school dropped significantly after fourth grade, when students have more subjects and teachers. For grades 1-4, with few exceptions students have one teacher for all classes, beginning in the fifth grade, students have a distinct teacher for each class and face a larger number of requirements. Related to this, the study found that the number of students repeating the fourth grade was higher than for other years (Rughinis, 2000).
Gaps in the education of Roma are not unique to Central and Eastern Europe. Schooling levels for Roma in Western European countries are lower than for other groups, although limited data are available. In Spain, which has the largest Roma (gitano) population in Western Europe, illiteracy among Roma is estimated at 50 percent for 2000. Enrollments in compulsory primary education have increased notably since 1990, however data indicate significantly lower performance. In 1992, 35 percent of Roma completed primary education on time, 51 percent failed a grade and 14 percent failed two or more grades (Martin, 2000). As a result, Roma are less likely to continue on to secondary school or university. Similar patterns of low attainment are found in other Western European countries (OSCE, 2000).

V. CONSTRAINTS TO ACCESS
Declining access to education among Roma can be explained by a range of complementary and contrasting factors, including economic developments, sociological aspects and characteristics of the education systems at large. Many of these issues are difficult to measure and assess, and additional research is needed to understand their relative impact on Roma. In this section both the factors that constrain physical access to school, and those which impact access to quality education for Roma are discussed.
Poverty and Education
There is a close link between education and the risk of poverty in Central and Eastern Europe. Households headed by university graduates are much less likely to end up in poverty than others, while those with primary and narrow vocational training are at higher risk (World Bank, 2000a). Poverty affects both children's prospects of attending school and their performance. Children from poor families are more likely not to attend, or to drop out of school than other children for a range of reasons, including: financial and opportunity costs, imperfect information about the benefits of education, limited choice and poor quality of educational services, substandard housing conditions at home that impede learning and studying, and poor health status. Data from the 1997 Bulgaria household survey showed that enrollment rates for children in the bottom household expenditure quintile of the population were significantly lower than those in the top quintile (figure 5). Enrollments for Roma children were 33 percentage points lower than the total population. No Roma were represented in the top expenditure quintile.

Figure 5: Bulgaria 1997, Enrollment Rates by Quintile

The economic context of the transition has increased the cost to families of sending children to school. The increasing prevalence of both official and unofficial fees for education has threatened the ability of families to send their children to school. While public education is ostensibly free throughout the region, severe fiscal crises and subsequent reform efforts have led to the introduction of fees for non-compulsory education (e.g. pre-primary and tertiary), as well as charges for school-related expenses such as textbooks, school meals, uniforms and student activities. Unofficial charges have also become more common, including charges levied by parent-teacher organizations, and informal payments to teachers for private tutoring (Vandycke, 2000).
These developments have the greatest impact on poor families, who are ill-positioned to pay for additional school related expenses, as well as basic necessities such as clothing and food. Growing costs, particularly charges for preschool, may deter parents from sending their children to school in the first place, while recurrent expenses may lead older children to withdraw from attendance. Results from the qualitative fieldwork in Romania and Bulgaria found that Roma families had difficulty locating the necessary resources. Interviews found that parents were most pressed to provide their children with clothing, particularly shoes, which were not as readily available second-hand as clothes, and food.
"After the winter comes, we won't send them any more -- we don't have clothing and shoes...There is no food also. And the children wouldn't stay: if we bring them, they stay one hour and then they come running home, because they are hungry." Interview with a woman in Covasna County, Romania.
Even if poor children are able to attend school, incidental charges may keep them from participating fully in school activities, such as electives, and the quality of their educational experience may be lower than that of other children (Rado, 1997).
As household incomes have fallen, the opportunity costs of sending children to school have risen. Families may require children to work, either in the home or outside in the informal sector. The extent of this phenomenon among Roma households is not known, but there are many reports of children dropping out of school in order to work. Because of large families, Roma girls may stay home to take care of children and other household chores, while in rural areas children may work in agriculture, or other common income-generating activities such as gathering and selling scrap metals and herbs. Children work most frequently in the informal sector and as a result may engage in illegal or dangerous employment. Interviews with principals in Bulgaria suggested that many children dropped out of school after completing basic education, in order to work (Tomova, 1998).
Parents' education levels play an important role in children's school attendance and performance (UNICEF, 1997; Vandycke, 2000). In this regard, Roma are at a greater disadvantage because of the gaps in educational attainment. This factor may affect school attendance in different ways. Parents with limited education will be unable to help their children with school work in the same way that parents of other children can. In the Romania qualitative study, teachers reported that Roma children performed poorly because they did not do homework (Rughinis, 2000). Parents may also be less likely to participate in school related activities, such as parent-teacher committees. As a result, the communication between teachers and parents may be less frequent.
The dismal labor market situation for many Roma may lead them to discourage their children from school attendance. As discussed above, transition had an immediate impact on labor markets, as the collapse of socialism led to the dissolution of state-guaranteed employment. The extent of restructuring led to widespread unemployment in many Roma communities and, given the lack of alternative opportunities, many are long-term unemployed and have dropped out of the labor force. Children may be discouraged from attending school if the value of education for employment and mobility is not perceived.
"What can they become? It is now as it was before, when they could become something? Nothing -- they would pull the hoe, what else? May they learn well...they will work the land." Mother of four in Vaslui County, Romania.
High levels of participation in the informal sector by Roma may also affect school enrollments. A school director in Bulgaria noted that many Roma were working as migrant workers, or travelling for trade:
"Parents are either unemployed or migrant workers and in such cases all their efforts are directed towards the immediate survival of the family instead of towards the education of their children, which are often left without any control. They travel everywhere. Some try to find seasonal jobs at the sea resorts - selling underwear, fruit and vegetables, and whatever one can think of; others work as musicians in pubs." School Director, Sliven, Bulgaria.

Cultural and Linguistic Factors
Negative stereotypes of Roma attitudes toward education are common. In the qualitative studies, interviews with teachers, education officials and non-Roma parents frequently expressed the sentiment that Roma are lazy and not interested in school. There is no evidence to suggest that these perceptions are true, and studies for Hungary suggest the contrary, that given a supportive environment Roma students are no less motivated than other students (Rado, 1997; Orsos, et al., 2000).
However, aspects of Roma social organization and culture do impact demand for education. For many Roma, education is the first and most direct encounter with the outside gadje (non-Roma) world. Many Roma parents may be protective and reluctant to send their children out of their family and community and fear assimilation (Gheorghe and Mirga, 1997). In particular, parents in rural areas where children have to travel outside their home village or settlement, may decide to keep their children at home. The traditional hierarchical organization of schooling may also differ significantly from Roma society. A sociologist noted that "[s]trict timetables, immobility, group discipline, and obedience to a single authority figure all conflict with Gypsy emphaisis on immediacy, flexibility and shared authority" (UNICEF, 1992).
Because of low ages of marriage and childbirth among some Roma communities, girls face additional challenges to staying in school. A survey of Roma communities conducted in Bulgaria in 1994 found that 40 percent of Roma marry before age 16 and 80 percent before age 18. These findings were confirmed in more recent field work (Tomova, 1998; Tomova 2000). Similar results were found in the Romania case studies where informal, non-registered, marriages were found to be prevalent, since many couples marry below the legal marriage age (16 for women and 18 for men). Related to this is the issue of early child birth, which makes it difficult for young mothers to stay in school.
Roma children starting school without full language proficiency are at a disadvantage relative to other students. In this regard, preschool education is a critical avenue for preparing Roma and other minority children for school. Preschool teachers in Slovenia noted that lack of familiarity with the Slovene language was common among Roma (Government of Slovenia, 1997). A school principal in Hungary commented, "to place somebody in the normal class without perfect kindergarten education would be like a competition between a Trabant and a Mercedes" (World Bank, 2000).
With the decline in preschool attendance, Roma children are likely to have additional difficulty integrating into mainstream schools. There are very few Roma teachers available to help children with language difficulties. As a result, students may be wrongly tracked into special schools and classes for children with learning disabilities and the mentally handicapped, or may become discouraged and drop out of school altogether.
Education Quality
Access to education is also directly affected by the quality of schooling, as students may be deterred from attending school if quality is low. Uneven education quality also impacts equity of education. There is evidence that the quality of education for Roma students is lower than that for the rest of the population. The following discusses aspects of education systems in the region which limit the quality of education for Roma including the prevalence of 'special schools,' the segregation of Roma students within the mainstream system, and inadequate teacher training and curriculum.
One of the most damaging legacies of the socialist era for the education of Roma is the tendency to channel children into 'special schools' for the mentally and physically handicapped. This policy had its roots in the socialist legacy of 'defectology' which assumed that differences among students were due to disability rather than environmental conditions, and as a result, should be addressed as medical problems in institutions separated from the rest of society (Ainscow and Memmenasha, 1998). The legacy of this practice has been the persistence of a parallel system of schools which provide lower quality education and fewer opportunities in post-basic education and the labor market than mainstream schools.
Evidence on this practice is most widespread for the Czech and the Slovak Republics and for Hungary. Data for the Czech Republic are striking, estimates for 1997 indicate that 64 percent of Roma children in primary school are in the special schools, in comparison with 4.2 percent for the total population. In other words, Roma are fifteen times more likely to end up in special schools than the national average (ERRC, 1999). Similarly, in Hungary about half the number of students enrolled in special schools are Roma (Rado, 1997).
Regardless of the quality of teaching in special schools, students enrolled in these institutions are at a disadvantage. The curriculum is less rigorous and expectations are lower. A detailed report on the Czech schools notes that students in special schools receive fewer Czech language lessons per week, and are not expected to read for comprehension until the fourth year, in contrast with the first year for students in regular schools (box 2).
Opportunities for graduates of special schools are also limited. Even if children are able to overcome the low expectations enshrined in the curriculum, they are not allowed equal access to school leaving exams. In the Czech Republic, students leaving special schools are only allowed to enter technical secondary schools, which offer limited training in narrowly defined fields. Students are then dually challenged on the labor market, as employers look unfavorably upon graduates of special schools, and technical training fails to adequately prepare young people for the labor market.
There is growing recognition that the existence of special schools is a detrimental barrier to the integration and educational development of Roma children. However, the obstacles to change are notable. Not only does resistance to integration come from non-Roma parents and education officials who fear that increasing the share of Roma children in a classroom will lower the quality of education for non-Roma students, but opposition comes from Roma parents as well. Special schools can be attractive to poor Roma families for economic reasons, in that school meals and - for residential institutions - housing, are provided. In addition, special schools are viewed by some parents as safe havens in contrast with mainstream schools where discrimination by teachers and other students create a difficult environment.
Box 2: Entrance to Remedial Special Schools in the Czech Republic
Roma children end up in special schools for many reasons. A study of this process in the Czech Republic found that because of discrimination and the highly discretionary nature of the process, many more Roma children end up in special schools than the regulations should allow.
Children can be enrolled directly into special schools, or transferred from a regular basic school. By law, placement is based upon the recommendation of the school director in consultation with the parent and an educational psychologist. In some cases parental consent is not obtained, or is abused. Parents may not realize that they are authorizing their children to be shifted into a special school:
"My daughter is in the second year of basic school. She is doing alright. One day in November 1997 her teacher came to see me saying, "We want to move her to another class which will be better for her." He gave me a piece of paper to sign. I should have read it but it was long and I didn't think a teacher would try to cheat us, so I just signed it…The next day I got a letter saying that my daughter had been moved to a remedial special school." Roma parent, Prague.
Educational psychologists play a pivotal role in determining whether children will be sent to special schools, they recommend students for examination and administer the exams. These procedures were found to be highly discretionary. In some cases children were even recommended for transfer without undergoing the required psychological exam. The tests themselves are problematic, psychologists may use a number of different instruments, many of which are culturally biased. An independent group of psychologists is currently working on a revised version of the test that will be more appropriate for Roma children, and plan to present it to the Czech Ministry of Education later this year.
Because of the widespread abuses that have been documented, parents of 18 Roma children from the Czech town of Ostrava initiated legal proceedings against the government last year. The Czech Constitutional Court ruled in favor of the government. An appeals process opened in April 2000 in front of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Source: ERRC, 1999.
Even where Roma children are kept within the mainstream school system, they often are separated into separate classes or schools. This is frequently related to geographic factors if Roma families are clustered in one part of a town. However, there is also evidence of further separation of Roma. For example, in Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic, there is a large Roma population in the eastern part of the city. There are eight basic schools serving the area and the majority of Roma children attend four of them. Within these four schools, Roma are frequently taught in remedial classes separated from non-Roma (ERRC, 1999). Similarly, fieldwork in Romania found situations in which non-Roma parents would request that their children to be taught in classes without Roma students, and teachers would divide up classes to keep Roma separate (Lazaroiu and Lazaroiu, 2000).
"I cannot say that the school no. 102 is professionally worse or better than others. All I know is that the children are worse. I saw their behavior. That's why I ran away from 102, because all gypsies are there." Mother, Bucharest, Romania.
There was also evidence in the qualitative studies that schools with high concentrations of Roma children are ill equipped and understaffed, particularly in the poorest areas. A school director in Bulgaria noted that "schools with Roma pupils are looked upon as if they are stepchildren" (Tomova, 2000). Similar conditions were noted in Romania (Lazaroiu and Lazaroiu, 2000).
"The situation of schools got better. Romanian schools have computers, but the schools from the "Gypsy land" are catastrophic because they are located there and the majority of children are Gypsy. The school is falling apart. Nobody cares because there are Gypsies there. We have only 3 or 4 Roma teachers. The children of wealthy Gypsies go to Romanian schools. For example the teachers from school no. 4 are much better than the ones from school no. 1. We tried to solve the problem and since September we have a Roma inspector. Because gypsies were slaves for a long time, most of them are illiterate." Roma leader, Vaslui County, Romania.
Division of Roma into separate learning environments need not have negative results. Some schools create special classes for Roma in order to address particular needs, such as language ability for young children. In many cases, the impact of these programs has been found to be positive in encouraging school attendance and integrating Roma into the mainstream school system. In Hungary a number of alternative schools, largely at the secondary level, have recently been established to support the education of Roma by providing a supportive learning environment (Orsos, et al., 2000). These initiatives have increased access to quality education. However, it is when separation is based upon negative rather than positive objectives that quality is endangered.
Discrimination against Roma by non-Roma parents, children and teachers contribute to low attendance and can both discourage children from attending school and affect the quality of education children receive in the classroom. Stereotypes about Roma and their attitudes toward education lower teachers' expectations about the potential of their students. Discrimination can be both explicit, as in the case of schools creating separate classes, or more subtle, for example if parents discourage their children from interacting with Roma classmates. A study of the Czech system documented a number of cases in which Roma children had been abused by education staff. One parent from Prague noted that "The teachers who teach Gypsy children are fine, but the others are terrible. They chase our children out of the dining room and insult them" (ERRC, 1999). Fieldwork in Romania also reflected discrimination of teachers, ranging from ignoring student needs, pejoratively calling them 'gypsies,' and violent treatment.
Teachers are central to the quality of education, and discussions with Roma in the qualitative studies indicated strongly that parental and teacher support were key motivating factors for student attendance and performance. However, there was little evidence that teachers were sufficiently trained to handle Roma students effectively. A teacher in Hungary noted that "[u]niversities and colleges do not prepare us for meeting Roma children" (Orsos, et al., 2000). Teacher training programs generally do not include training in areas such as multicultural education, managing classroom conflict and other areas which would facilitate the social integration of Roma. There is also a lack of Roma teachers within the education system. While this is not a precondition for quality teaching, the presence of teachers who understand the background and challenges facing Roma children and who are role models is an important factor.
Schools also often lack the necessary support mechanisms to help teachers face challenging classroom environments. Teaching aids, textbooks, regulations, and content and quality standards are generally absent (Rado, 1997). A teacher in Hungary noted that:
"There is nobody to turn to if I have a problem…Some of the tensions we feel are connected to a lack of knowledge about the history and customs of the Roma, about surviving traditions which influence their lives. We do not know their language. Nobody helps to fill this gap." Hungarian teacher.
Related to these concerns, school curriculum do not include multicultural education. Few schools teach the Roma language, history or culture.
VI. POLICY IMPLICATIONS
Because of the central role of education for securing improvements in welfare and economic status, education has been a priority focus for government and NGO involvement. More project activity has taken place in this area over the past decade than in any of the other sectors. The review of social sector projects in Hungary found that more than 40 percent of resources allocated to Roma projects during the past decade were for education (World Bank, 2000e). This section first discusses some general issues for policy development and then identifies more specific policy options for education.
Cross-Cutting Issues
Addressing information gaps: This overview has clearly highlighted the critical lack of basic information pertaining to Roma, including education statistics. To address this countries should look carefully at their statistical instruments (e.g. censuses and household surveys) and administrative data to assess how they can better capture information on Roma and other minorities that will be useful from a policy perspective. This is an area where multilateral coordination, advice and guidance is important for ensuring comparability of data. More information on international practices, particularly in addressing the privacy issue on ethnic identification is needed.
Combating discrimination: Social integration of Roma should be promoted through multicultural education and the inclusion of Roma history, culture and language in school curricula. More broadly, initiatives to reduce discrimination within society should be furthered to eliminate racial stereotypes. Examples could include media and law enforcement sensitivity training and public awareness campaigns.
Monitoring Program Outcomes: The outcomes of targeted public policies and NGO initiatives should be monitored closely. The results of program evaluation should be used for on-going policy development. Mechanisms should be in place for disseminating lessons across regions and countries.
Experimenting with integrated approaches. Because the challenges facing Roma are multi-sectoral, policy and project responses can also be designed to address multiple issues. Educational programs can address health issues, housing projects can provide employment opportunities, and social assistance programs support school attendance. Integrated approaches may also be more effective in meeting project goals. A recent article on education programs in the United States concluded that those initiatives that supported families as well as schools were more effective at raising educational outcomes (Traub, 2000).
Choosing targeted vs. untargeted programs. A critical question in all areas is whether policies and programs should be explicitly directed toward Roma, or broadly based for poor communities, or the population at large. There are no correct or easy answers, but the consequences of both should be considered carefully in program design. Untargeted programs are appealing for their administrative simplicity and broader appeal, and may facilitate integration and social cohesion within communities. On the other hand, untargeted programs may be ill-suited to reaching the poorest and most isolated Roma. Living conditions for Roma and non-Roma may differ quite significantly within a geographic area, and as a result, targeting a whole village or district may not be the most strategic approach. In this regard, targeted programs can be effective in addressing the specific needs of Roma communities, such as language teaching.
However, targeted approaches are not without their own risks. In some cases Roma-specific programs may be divisive within a community and breed resentment that some groups are receiving special treatment to the disadvantage of others. Similarly, without effective monitoring of objectives and outcomes, targeted programs can be instruments for maintaining existing patterns of segregation and exclusion of Roma. For example, preliminary evaluations of targeted programs in Hungary found that in some cases local governments supported capital investments in Roma neighborhoods in order to reduce the incentives for Roma to move into other parts of town (World Bank, 2000e). Such programs need not have negative consequences if designed in close consultation with the whole community, including Roma.
Education Interventions
A priority starting point is reducing barriers that keep children from starting school. Many children are discouraged from starting school because of difficult economic circumstances at home and cultural differences, including language. Economic constraints can be addressed through the coordination of social assistance and education policies to alleviate the cost of education to poor families. A range of options exist, including school feeding programs (which can supplement nutrition while encouraging school attendance), policy measures that link provision of child allowances to enrollments, and scholarships for low-income students.
Preschool programs are important bridges for preparing children for the classroom environment and overcoming language and cultural differences. A number of countries have experimented with targeted preprimary initiatives to facilitate school attendance and performance. The Open Society Foundation has supported the"Step-by-Step" program, modeled on the U.S.'s "Head Start" initiative, in Roma and non-Roma communities. In 2000, 8,180 Roma students in 17 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the countries Former Soviet Union were enrolled in Step-by-Step programs. Step-by-Step takes an integrated approach that provides training and support to teachers, as well as involves parents in the classroom. Parental involvement at all levels of education should be explored and fostered, including bringing parents into the classroom as teacher's aides, participation in parent-teacher associations, and regular parent-teacher interactions.
Initiatives that reduce dropouts and facilitate continuation to secondary and tertiary education are also critical: however, there is less experience in this area. Mentoring programs and extracurricular activities that provide tutoring and supplementary educational activities have been introduced in some countries. More recently, in Hungary and the Czech Republic, secondary schools that target Roma children have been opened. Schools like the Gandhi School in Pecs, Hungary, and the Romani High School for Social Affairs in Kolin in the Czech Republic integrate Romani studies, including language, history, and culture into the curriculum. While it is not feasible, nor necessarily desirable, that all Roma be educated in separate schools, successful elements of the approaches taken in these schools, including a multi-cultural curriculum, teacher training and parental involvement can be incorporated into mainstream public schools (box 3).
Improving the quality of education for Roma students can have positive effects on school attendance and educational outcomes. A key element of this is reducing negative discrimination within school systems and, in particular, diminishing the role of special schools and institutions for Roma. Practices of channeling Roma students into special schools in the first place need to be reviewed, as do policies that limit the future opportunities of special school graduates. Special education should be reformed to address true learning disabilities and special needs of at-risk children. The issue of special schools should be considered within the overall shift away from child welfare institutions toward more effective and humane community and family-based solutions.
Teachers play a central role in defining the quality of education for all students and need to be adequately trained to deal with the challenges of a multicultural environment. On-going support mechanisms that help teachers on the job are also critical. Particular training could include Roma history and culture, conflict resolution, and classroom management. A number of countries have also experimented with Roma teachers assistants and mediators who can assist in the classroom environment, as well as provide a link between Roma communities and schools. A variation of this has been recently introduced in Romania, where the Ministry of Education has appointed Roma education inspectors in each of its forty-one counties to monitor the quality of education for Roma. The effects of this project are not yet known.
Box 3: Alternative Secondary Schools in Hungary
There have been a number of recent experiments in Hungary with alternative approaches to secondary school education that aim to help Roma children bridge the gap between basic and secondary school, and improve their performance and future opportunities. Roma are much less likely to start and complete secondary school than other children. A 1993 survey of Roma in Hungary found that only 1 percent of Roma took the final examination for secondary schools and only 13 percent received training as skilled workers.
A recent review of alternative approaches commissioned by the World Bank looked at six different schools, most of which have been established during the past five years. All of the schools are private and receive support from a range of local and international foundations and NGOs, as well as state budget subsidies. While the majority of students in each of the schools are Roma, not all of the institutions explicitly target Roma children.
The type of education provided by the different schools varies greatly. In some cases, the schools provide vocational training, such as the "Roma Chance" Alternative Vocational Foundation School in Szolnok, the Don Bosco Vocational Training Center and Primary School in Kazincbarcika, and the Budapest Kalyi Jag School. Others, such as the Jószefváros School and the Collegium Martineum in Mánfa, support students enrolled in secondary schools through extracurricular activities and classes and, in the case of the latter, dormitory accommodation in a supportive home environment. Finally, the Gandhi School and Students' Hostel in Pécs is a six-year secondary school (or gymnasium) that prepares students for continuation to university education.
The schools differ in the extent to which they emphasize the Roma background of their students in their curricula and approach. In most of the schools, the strengthening of Roma identity and community and the preservation of traditions are an explicit and integral component of the mission of the school, and teaching includes classes in such topics as Roma language, history, and art. Others, such as Don Bosco, focus on building the self-confidence of students through professional training and support for entering the labor market. There are also differences in the extent to which the schools address the underlying socioeconomic disadvantages of students. Some, such as the Collegium Martineum, target disadvantaged students and address the economic barriers to school attendance by providing housing and other support. Most of the schools involve parents in the educational process, however this proves difficult in many cases because of low education levels.
Because the schools are very new, evaluation of their effectiveness and outcomes is not yet possible. Preliminary evidence has been mixed. For example, more than half of the first class entering the Gandhi school dropped out. However, in comparison with the national rates for Roma this is an achievement, and dropout rates have declined for subsequent classes. Discussions with teachers, school directors, parents and students indicated overwhelming support for the schools and highlighted the importance of their common characteristics, including a recognition of the capacity of Roma children to succeed given a supportive environment, and the need for a broader approach to education that supports students at home, in their community, and in school.
Sources: Orsos, et, al., 2000 and OSCE, 2000.

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