Baxtale
Rom:
A Grassroots Desegregation Initiative
A photo essay by Endre Sebok
In Hungary, the vast majority of Romani children are placed in special schools or separated into remedial classes in mainstream schools. Culturally biased psychological testing results in de facto segregation whereby huge numbers of Romani children are labeled "mildly mentally handicapped" and sent to "Elementary Schools with Differentiated Curriculum." The Roma center Baxtale Rom, based in Kiskõrös and funded by OSI's Roma Participation Program, developed a pre-school initiative in 2001 to challenge this practice. As the center's director László Stojka explained:
"The aim of our pre-school program is to provide an opportunity for Romani children to begin their education in the normal schools. Those children who do not attend kindergarten begin their education in the special schools. We want to avoid this because once they are placed in the special schools there is no possibility for our children to progress on to higher education."
László and his team are working with a group of 20 children: seven were enrolled in the mainstream school in September 2001, and the remaining 13 are due to begin attending school later this year.
The Romani settlements are scattered around the outskirts of Kiskõrös, and some of the children live as far as 10 kilometers from the center of town. There is virtually no public transport, and in winter Romani families are even more isolated by the harsh climes and heavy snowfalls. Baxtale Rom secured partial funding from the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and the RPP to purchase a microbus to take the children to and from the schools and the center each day. They also approached the local municipality, which agreed to cover the costs of a driver's salary and gasoline.
The program was designed by professional teachers in cooperation with Roma educators who have close links with the local community. As László comments: "The children love the daily routine very much as the methodology has a playful element to it. It has produced great results because of the amount of individual attention given to each child."
The children who began in the mainstream school this year are making excellent progress and enjoy their studies. At the end of each school day the microbus takes them back to the center where they take part in an after-school program funded by AFSC.
When asked about the future, László replied: "Our main goal is for Romani children to get a proper education in the normal schools. There is no future for them in the special schools. Our immediate aim is to continue to support the educational development of these children. They come from very poor families so it will not be easy. But a proper education is the most important start they can have in life."
__________
Support for the Baxtale Rom project is part of a broader initiative by the Roma Participation Program to promote desegregation in education in Central and Eastern Europe. The effort began in 2000 in Bulgaria, where desegregation projects in six towns have successfully integrated more than 1200 Romani children into mainstream schools.
This photo essay includes a selection of photographs by Endre Sebok, a doctoral student at Central European University in Budapest. In early 2002, he traveled to Kiskõrös with RPP staff members to document the Baxtale Rom project.
Report: "The Desegregation of 'Romani Schools'" (.pdf)
Roma Memorial University Scholarship Program
On the Margins: Roma and Public Services in Romania, Bulgaria, and Macedonia
On the Margins: Roma and Public Services in Slovakia