Some 600 students attend "Romany" school in CzechRep - press

About 600 students attend the private secondary school of social and legal studies for Romanies in the Czech Republic, administered and headed by Romany activist Emil Scuka, that has considerably helped increase the number of Romany secondary school graduates in the country, the daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MFD) writes today.

Scuka established the school ten years ago in Kolin, central Bohemia, since he met with a high demand for re-training among Romanies. He succeeded in gaining finances from sponsors, above all from abroad.

At present his school, which has opened branches in seven Czech tows, operates as any other private school in the Czech Republic – the major part of the costs is covered from the state budget, while the rest must be funded from private resources

"I want as many Romanies as possible to achieve secondary school education. This is a minimum in the 21st century," Scuka told the paper.

Students of the Romany secondary school do not pay tuition fees. Apart from traditional subjects, they also learn the Romany language. The graduates can work as Romany assistants or advisers, and they can also find a job in social services.

Romanies are also the school management members and teachers, the paper adds.

The school is a great opportunity for Romanies, though not all of the students complete the studies.

Marcela Pitrochova from the school’s branch in Brno said that not all students are able to pass school leaving exams and that she expects some 25 percent to leave the school early.

On the other hand some graduates from "Scuka’s" school continue at universities, the paper notes.

One of them is, Tibor Tiser, who finished the Romany secondary school in 2004 and now he studies at Prague’s Charles University Faculty of Arts. Tiser, who comes from a very poor family, also cooperates with the public Czech Television (CT) in two programmes, MfD says.

He recalls that he suffered from the inferiority complex when he studied at an "ordinary" secondary school as he was the only Romany there and moreover, some of his schoolmates sympathised with the skinhead movement. This is why he decided to go to a "Romany" school in Kolin instead, though it was seated far away from his place of residence.

"The school has helped me immensely…A Romany who studiesd [at a secondary school or university] belongs nowhere all of a sudden. Neither to Romanies, nor to ‘the white’…However, I have realised who I am and that the Romany language exists," Tiser told the paper.

Nevertheless, some critics point out that Scuka’s school actually supports the segregation of Romanies in the education system.

Scuka says he can understand this argument, but so far the demand for such a type of school is high among Romanies who would often have problems to attend common secondary schools.

Most recently, Scuka asked to open another school branch in Vsetin, north Moravia, where problems with Romany inhabitants were highlighted in connection with Jiri Cunek, current deputy PM and former Vsetin mayor. The Vsetin Town Hall has so far rejected Scuka’s plan allegedly due to the lack of suitable premises, MfD says.

Last year, when he was still mayor, Cunek drew attention as he relocated local Romany rent-defaulters from a dilapidated house in the Vsetin centre to a new house made of tin container-like flats on the town’s outskirts, while further Romany families were resettled elsewhere in Moravia. The most recently, Cunek, who has benn accused of corruption, caused indignation with his abusive statements on Romanies.

MfD also writes that Scuka’s school faces financial problems, primarily in Central Bohemia where the school management is in dispute with the Regional Office over an alleged debt for the lease of the premises and the case will probably end up in court.

The Education Ministry has so far supported Scuka’s school. However, ministry spokesman Ondrej Gabriel says that the original project has already fulfilled its role and it should take a step forward.

Scuka agrees with the opinion and he plans to introduce new study programmes without the Romany language among obligatory subjects to open his school to the majority population.

MfD adds that the number of "white students" at Scuka’s school has been rising now already.

Minister Dzamila Stehlikova (Greens), who is in charge of minority issues, told the paper that Scuka’s school is the largest institution providing secondary education for the Romany community in the Czech Republic, and without this project there would not have been so many educated Romanies in society.

Asked about objections to a lower education quality at this school, Stehlikova pointed out that Scuka’s school in a way balances the handicap of Romany pupils at primary schools where they are under the pressure of non-Romany schoolmates, and enables gifted Romanies to achieve secondary school education.

She, however, stressed that the school is only "an intermediate stage."

"Segregation is not the right path," Stehlikova said, adding that changes must first start in pre-school education among Romany children to improve conditions for them at primary schools so that no "softer" environment for Romanies at secondary school would be needed.

"At the moment we are raising the education level for Romany children at primary schools, this secondary school must open to others and stop being ‘a school for Romanies,’" Stehlikova concluded in MfD.