The Ministry of Social and Labour Affairs (SZMM) jointly with the Roma Education Fund have initiated a program for increasing the educational success of children living in Roma settlements. The REF is supporting settlements participating in the social and residential integrated model program of the SZMM the program was announced in 2005.
The Ministry of Social and Labour Affairs (SZMM) jointly with the Roma Education Fund have initiated a program for increasing the educational success of children living in Roma settlements. The REF is supporting settlements participating in the social and residential integrated model program of the SZMM the program was announced in 2005.
The first phase of the SZMM program, aiming to help the social integration of Roma living in settlements, has terminated. It is estimated that there are about a hundred thousand people living in one of the 500 Roma settlements in different regions of the country, the vast majority of them are Roma.
In order to improve the living conditions of those living in the settlements, the SZMM invited applications for its model program with a frame amount of 680 million HUF.
Nine settlements received approximately half of the required amounts, measured between fifty- five and ninety- one million HUF.
The Ministry of Social and Labour Affairs with the aid and corporation of REF has initiated a separate basic program in favour of improving the educational success of the children of nine settlements, supporting the school plans of each elementary school in the aggregate with 90 million HUF.
Settlements worked out such programs that offer help for Roma children and young Roma, right from the period of pre-school programs till the end of high-school studies. The most important element of these, as the REF says, is the development of the methodology and instrumental capacities of schools, which are inspiring not only for the integrated education of Roma students, but for the overall ambiance of the school besides, would also improve the pedagogy results.
Many Roma children of these settlements live below the average life circumstances of their middle-class mates.
For these Roma kids, out of school learning centre programs have been implemented in nine localities.
Source: Elza Lakatos, Roma Press Center
