Segregation, An Alarming Problem that Roma Face in the Education System

Abstract

The arrival of the transition period in Albania in 1991 led to a promptly decline in the educational levels which by itself brought a decrease in school attendance and an increase in dropout rates. These patterns are manifested more among the Roma people who face more problems in attending school. The national illiteracy rate found by INSTAT 1 was not more than 2 percent for the Albanian population, but it is as much as 63 percent for Roma girls and 60 percent for Roma boys. It is assumed that it has increased significantly since 19912. It is the equal access to education one of the core problems which the Roma communities in Albania are facing, and it is this deficiency which is also directly related with other problems such as employment and political participation. I believe that in designing new policies and long term solutions for the melioration of the educational situation for Roma community in Albania, it is very important to have a diagnostic situation of the situation of Roma access and equity in education. Hence, the rationale behind this paper is to explore the situation, reasons and respective perspectives for the Roma minority regarding their access and equity in education. The methodology used in this research includes primary and secondary data. The primary data were obtained through semi-structured interviews. Interviews were conducted with one Representative of the Albanian Ministry of Education and Sports and interviews with two teachers of the elementary school “Bajram Curri” Tirana/Albania. Secondary data were obtained for a qualitative character from a range of sources such as reports, documents and studies on the education of Roma in Albania and Central and Eastern Europe.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n27p1385