Inclusion and education

BOX 2.4: 
Roma children are frequently segregated in education
The Roma are the largest ethnic minority in Europe, numbering 
between 10 million and 12 million, of which two-thirds live in Central and 
Eastern Europe (UNICEF, 2020). They often live in poverty and suffer 
prejudice, intolerance and discrimination (FRA, 2014). Their education 
attainment is low. Across six countries in 2016, the median early 
childhood education participation rate among Roma was 36% compared 
with a national average of 86%. The secondary school completion 
rate of Roma aged 18 to 24 was 40% among men and just 28% among 
women (FRA, 2016).
Roma children suffer various forms of segregation in education. The 
share of those attending classes in which all or most learners are Roma 
ranges from 29% in Romania to about 60% in Bulgaria, Hungary and 
Slovakia. In Bulgaria, 27% of Roma children attended schools where 
all their classmates were Roma, according to the Second Survey on 
Minorities in Europe (FRA, 2016). In Hungary, segregation has increased: 
the proportion of basic schools with a Roma population of at least 
50% rose from 10% in 2008 to 15% in 2017 (European Commission, 
2019b). Roma children were also segregated on separate floors or in 
separate classes (Albert et al., 2015).
Roma children are disproportionally diagnosed with intellectual 
disabilities and placed in special schools, as in Hungary (Van den 
Bogaert, 2018) and Slovakia (Amnesty International and European Roma 
Rights Centre, 2017). A Council of Europe position paper on fighting 
school segregation through inclusive education drew attention to new 
forms of discrimination, such as Roma-only private schools (Council 
of Europe, 2017). In 2013, European Council recommendations on 
integration measures obliged EU member states to end ‘inappropriate 
placement’ of Roma students in special schools (European Council, 
2013, Para. 1.3). Nevertheless, in 2016, 16% of Roma aged 6 to 15 in the 
Czech Republic and 18% in Slovakia attended special schools (FRA, 2016).
In line with its 2000 Racial Equality Directive, which prohibited 
discrimination in education on racial and ethnic grounds, the European 
Union started infringement procedures against the Czech Republic (2015), 
Slovakia (2015) and Hungary (2016), telling them to end discrimination 
against Roma children in education and ensure equal access to high-
quality education (European Commission, 2016). A letter of formal 
notice was sent to Slovakia in 2015, and the European Commission 
concluded in October 2019 that measures taken had been insufficient 
to redress the situation and warned the country that if it did not take 
further action by the end of 2019, the matter could be referred to the 
European Court of Justice (European Commission, 2019c).
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has 
raised concerns about segregation in education of Roma children in 
the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary and Slovakia. In 2019, Croatia, 
Lithuania and Slovakia updated their action plans for implementation 
of national Roma integration strategies, and implemented some 
measures targeting specific aspects of segregation in education.
Litigation is increasingly used to fight discrimination and inequality. 
The European Court of Human Rights adopted a vulnerability 
approach to redress structural inequality on grounds of sex, sexual 
orientation, disability, race and ethnicity. D.H. and Others vs 
Czech Republic was brought in 2000 by 18 Czech Roma students 
assigned to special primary schools with simplified curricula. The 
court ruled the students had been denied their right to education 
because enrolment criteria did not take into account characteristics 
specific to Roma, resulting in racial discrimination and segregation 
(European Court of Human Rights, 2007). Later rulings included 
Oršuš and Others vs Croatia, which called for the state to provide 
linguistic support enabling Roma children to enter mainstream 
classes, and Horváth and Kiss vs Hungary, which found that 
Roma children were misdiagnosed because of ‘socio-economic 
disadvantage and cultural differences’ (Broderick, 2019). The 
ruling obliged the country to ‘undo a history of racial segregation’ 
(European Court of Human Rights, 2013, p. 34), but local actors have 
been trying to undermine the decision (Zemandl, 2018).
A joint EU and Council of Europe project, Inclusive Schools: Making 
a Difference for Roma Children, targets schools attended by Roma 
children in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and 
the United Kingdom. It aims to increase understanding of the 
benefits of inclusive education among teachers and the public, set 
up support mechanisms and resources for pilot inclusive schools, 
provide support to teachers to practice inclusive teaching, and 
support removal of barriers for vulnerable groups, including through 
legislative changes (Council of Europe, 2019).
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GLOBAL EDUCATION MONITORING REPORT 2021

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In the Russian Federation, the Education 2019–2024 project 
contains a roadmap with indicators and key objectives 
for the development of the education system in priority 
areas. It includes 10 federal projects addressing areas 
including school upgrading; extracurricular activities, 
including online courses, for students with special needs; 
networks of support centres; psychological, pedagogical 
and consulting assistance to parents provided by regional 
non-government organizations (NGOs); and digital 
opportunities for rural schools.
Strategies or action plans for inclusive education exist 
in 21 of the 30 education systems, with target areas 
including non-discrimination, equal opportunity and 
school dropout. Examples include the 2019–23 Kyrgyz 
concepts and programmes for development of 
inclusive education and the Republic of Moldova’s 
2011–20 development programme for inclusive education.
Other countries are moving in this direction. Armenia is 
developing an action plan on universal inclusive education 
in two regions. The policy framework is expected to 
be revised by 2025 to enable inclusive education in all 
regions. The US Agency for International Development 
has supported a draft strategic vision and roadmap on 
inclusive education for 2019–25. In Tajikistan, the Ministry 
of Education and Science and the Academy of Pedagogical 
Sciences are developing a strategy for inclusive education 
provision taking into account an expanded understanding 
of the terms ‘inclusive’ and ‘vulnerable’. The strategy 
addresses disability, ethnicity, migration and gender.
Does all mean all?
A key dilemma in inclusive education involves maintaining 
a focus on all learners while addressing the needs of 
specific groups that may be particularly vulnerable to 
marginalization and exclusion. While attaching labels 
to particular groups can have negative consequences, 
countries risk not responding to the education interests 
of the most disadvantaged if they emphasize only what 
learners have in common (Norwich, 2002). The Learning 
Slovakia plan notes that ‘the so-called ordinary pupils and 
their needs are often overlooked … at the same time, they 
are also unique individuals with diverse potential’ (p. 16).
There is often a perception that learners from 
disadvantaged groups cannot benefit from mainstream 
school organization, curricula and teaching approaches. 
Approaches focused on individual support for learners 
with disabilities and special education needs, often based 
on a medical diagnosis, can result in individual teaching, 
separate interventions and segregated provision, 
Strategies or action plans 
for inclusive education exist in 
21
30
21
of the 
30
education systems
in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia
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which reduce opportunities and lead to fragmented, 
resource-intensive initiatives that cannot be sustained 
in the longer term. The individual focus becomes a way 
to manage diversity in an inflexible system in which 
differences are seen as problems to be fixed. In some 
systems, learners may be excluded through a ‘readiness’ 
approach that requires them to have particular skills 
or levels of independence that will enable them to ‘fit 
into’ the system.
Many governments focus efforts on groups at high risk 
of exclusion: 27 of the 30 education systems reviewed 
have plans focusing on disability and special education 
needs, while 18 focus on Roma or other ethnic minorities. 
Some, influenced by EU policies, focus on learners at 
risk of dropping out or leaving education early (Albania, 
Kosovo,
2
the Republic of Moldova, Serbia). In Hungary, 
a medium-term 2014–20 strategy for early school 
leaving aimed to reduce the number of school leavers 
without a qualification and improve transition to the 
labour market for socially disadvantaged learners, 
especially those from the Roma community. Actions to 
support vulnerable groups include providing assistants,