Czech schools talk about neo-Nazism rarely - People in Need

Teachers at Czech secondary and vocational schools inform students about the dangers of neo-Nazism only to a limited extent, representatives of the People in Need organisation told journalists today.

People in Need carried out a survey among 1700 participants in seminars it organised last year within the Can I Understand It? project launched last April.

A total of 619 students and prentices answered the survey questions.

Teachers at least touched on neo-Nazism only according to a half of the polled. A mere 14 percent of students said they worked with neo-Nazism in only two lessons during the whole school year.

A total of 60 seminars on rightist extremism were held for students and apprentices at the end of last year with the above project.

People in Need also issued a manual for teachers called "Can I Understand It? - Threats of neo-Nazism" that is available for free on the Internet.

The project also included concerts, a plastic arts competition and Internet spots and presentations.

Project coordinator Vaclav Zeman said the danger of neo-Nazism in the Czech Republic is much larger now than at the start of the campaign.

He mentioned, for example, the events organised by extremists in the Janov housing estate in Litvinov, north Bohemia, that is inhabited mainly by Romanies.

The events that resulted in hard clashes with the police late last year continue this year.