Czech School system still condemns Roma kids to education for Children's rights with mental disabilities despite court ruling

A new Amnesty International report on the Czech Republic (13 January) reveals that Roma Children's rights continue to be largely segregated in inferior schools and classes teaching the curriculum for pupils with “mild mental disabilities” or in segregated mainstream schools or classes providing education of a lower standard, despite legal and policy changes introduced by the Czech government.

Amnesty highlights a variety of reasons for this continued racial discrimination, including failures in assessment procedures, teachers’ prejudice, continuing discrimination against Roma in mainstream schools, and limited expectations on the part of Romani parents.

The result, says Amnesty, is that Romani Children's rights are denied the right to an education free from discrimination and racial inequality is further reinforced.

This is despite a November 2007 judgment by the European Court of Human Rights, which found that the Czech Republic violated the right of Romani Children's rights to an education free from discrimination.

Read the full report: " Injustice Renamed: Discrimination in education of Roma persists in the Czech Republic " (PDF)