Materials regarding our events and activities are published regularly in local and national daily newspapers, “24 hours”, “SEGA”, ”Trud”, ”Novinar”. The desegregation initiative was also covered on the pages of the New York Times International (12 June, 2001. ), International Herald Tribune (14 June 2001).
Professor Gaidarski thinks that the birth rate problem is ethnical.
“I am against the introduction of a law that bans early births, which Minister Gaidarski has proposed, ” said Donka Panayotova, Chair person of the Vidin-based “Organization Drom”. The “birth rate problem can be handled through special educational programs, which to increase the health knowledge of young Roma” is what Panayotova, the project leader of the desegregation process of education in the Danube town of Vidin has pointed out as the key to the solution.
In a protest declaration directed to the prime-minister, “Organization Drom” demands that Radoslav Gaidarski resigns, “because with this kind of statement he sends a contradictory message to our society, creates tolerance problems and builds hatred between the majority group and the ethnic minorities”.
Despite the efforts of all of citizens for tolerance and recognition of minority groups in Bulgaria, the Minister makes an unsubstantiated statement without any analysis of the situation, reads the declaration.
„For the past couple of years, the minimum age for young Roma mothers has increased, are affirming from the organization. Certainly exists a problem with underage mothers giving births early in their life, but it cannot be said that this is a massive practice and that it is ethnically-defined”.
A press conference, on the occasion of the statement of the Ministry of the protection of health Prof. Gaidarski’s in relation with the early weddings and “childbirth gaving from children” took place on 12 of october, by foundation “Organization Romani Baht”. A similar kind of problem need not be ethnically defined because such problems are of global nature, was announced by the representatives of the organization. ” They think that “the statement made by Minister Gaidarski is more so an ill-judged statement than a well-grounded political proposal, and later a decision. ”
DESEGREGATION IN VIDIN
A statement of Donka Panayotova (BTA Press Conference)
There have been 12 years already since the democratic changes first took place in the country.
Bulgaria took on the road of democracy and guaranteed equal rights to all Bulgarian citizens by signing a range of international legal human rights documents.
For the moment, all Roma are categorical that a well-defined national policy on the “desired” Roma integration into the society DOES NOT EXIST.
For all these years, we have initiated a number of programs for improving the status of the Roma community, while trying to apply the “The Framework Programm for Equal Integration of Roma in the Bulgarian society”. However, we never managed to unite ourselves around a common initiative. Only the desegregation initiative became national and this is not just a happening.
The road of education is the shortest. Education makes us competitive on the market, it gives us choice and freedom.
By the process of desegregation we the Roma are going to another stage in our development of looking for the meaning and the assessment of the Roma coummunity in Bulgaria.
The process of desegregation does not only provide transport means to children from the Roma neighborhoods to all town schools. It also gives opportunities to Roma and non-Roma pupils to interact with each other and develop friendships.
It is necessary to continue to work towards building a sense of tolerance in the school setting, tolerance towards Roma culture and traditions.
This is all possible when the desegregation team includes people who believe in the idea, people who are responsible, systemic and organized in their work and people who will gain the trust of the Roma in the neighborhoods.
For already a third year, “Organization Drom”, Vidin implements the initiative on desegregation of the Roma education.
Currently, there are 600 children involved in the program. They all receive their education outside the segregated local Roma school in “Nov Pat” neighborhood, and are distributed among six schools in Vidin.
We, as the team responsible for the project, are proud to say that we have created a working model of desegregation of the Roma education in Bulgaria.
This model is successful because we have managed to unite the efforts of all actors involved in the process, i. e. children, parents, teachers, school principals, the Regional Inspectorate on Education and Science and the Ministry of Education and Science.
At the beginning of each school year, we conduct interviews in all partner schools. Throughout the course of the year, the children achieve results, which we carefully record and analyze.
These competitions unite the efforts of Roma and non-Roma children in building a spirit of tolerance, and get to know the Roma culture.
This year, we have pioneered and worked on the campaign “Different but together”, and the award is a summer camp to the Black Sea.
Designated tutors selected from the Roma neighborhood are distributed across the schools after a selection process. The selection criteria were as follows: high school diploma, communication skills and ability to work with children.
It has to be noted that for the past two years since the start of this initiative, the children have grown greatly accustomed to their tutors and have built good trust in them.
These tutors can be potential teachers because their mentorship experience will be half-the-job to becoming qualified pedagogues.
Along with tracking the pupil’ attendance patterns, these tutors follow their progress and record the results as the school year progresses. The children experiencing academic challenges are referred to special preparatory academic classes for individual work with teachers and mentors, where each child can make recordable progress, and when ready, to go back to the classroom.
With the help of the parents we created a special club “SOS PARENTS”. In this club three parents from each school are selected at a special parent meeting – in total they are 18. This are the parents, who have authority in the neighbourhood and can influence positivly on the other parents in their communication with the children.
Active discussions are taking place in the club whereby parents and specially hired psychologists work together in solving potential problems.
We have also created club “Unity” where two elementary school teachers and two teachers on Bulgarian Language and Literature from each partner school hold memberships.
At the beginning of the program, we were sure of the need to prepare and work closely with the teachers.
At the beginning of each school year, we conduct an inquiry into themes and topics that teachers see as vital and would like incorporated in the program.
We have worked with lectors from the Sofia University on the topics of active learning and have utilized them in the process of preparing teachers for work in a multicultural setting.
Once a month we participate in program “Ethno calendar” on channel “Vidin”. In the the program broadcasts public discussions about the problems and succeses of the program using a telephnone connection. We have several publications in the local media-newspapers “Vidin” and “Nie”.
National media and channel correspondents keep track of our activities and make regular broadcasts, showing successful practices and statements made on various social issues. It is of extreme importance that the successes of the program “Desegregation of the Roma Education” is noted in the context of cooperation and collaborative work between all actors and on all levels of government. This is all for the cause of “DESEGREGATION”.
The Thin Line between Education and Unemployment
The number of public servants in the sphere of education is 189 517, and those in the private sector are only 4 389. The educational system comes as the fifth largest employer after the private firms (1. 6 milion employees), the industry workers (597 thousand ), the public servants (435 thousand) and the business (282 thousand people).
Two weeks ago, the Minister of Labour and social policy, Hristina Hristova, announced a salary increase in the educational system. This is, however, only a symbolic increase of around 6 leva, which comes to about 289. 08 leva. After all necessary deductions, the real salary comes to about 200 leva, leaving many Bulgarian families once more deceived.
The results are dismal and speak volume to the lack of long-term strategic planning. The quality of intermediate school education incessantly falls in view of minimal governmental incentives and insignificant enumeration. Meanwhile, the State does not support the work of the private sector when it comes to investments in the education.
Furthermore, the problems of the middle school education are then transferred to the level of post-secondary education.
Less and less do Bulgarian families have the financial capacity to send their children to university. Thus, the number of registered pupils has increased by 12 % in the period 1997/98 vis-а-vis 2002/03. Sadly enough, Bulgaria shows a more negative tendency of registered university students when compared to the other countries in Central and Eastern Europe. As an example, Poland has experienced an increase of 60 % for the same period, Latvia is with 57 %, and Slovenia with 46 %. Hungary has seen an increase in the number of students by 39 %. Bulgaria takes the last spot in the context of private investments in the sphere of education. The country allocates around 100 million euro annually, while Hungary, which is with comparable population and territory spends 4 times more per year.
Jan Figel, European Commissioner on Education and Culture visited Bulgaria recently. He noted that the European Union seriously regresses as opposed to the United States and Japan when it comes to private investments in the sphere of Education. Since this is true for the whole of European Union, it is even more valid in the context of Bulgaria, which has taken the chronic last place on almost all evaluation criteria in the education (e. g. attendance, quality, salaries, investments in equipment, etc).
Investments in the sphere of education are of long-term nature. Therefore, the system of education is not so attractive for governments, whose primary goal is with less money to achieve the same results. Increasing the quality of education is, however, vital because the market economy looks for qualified personnel. The lack of qualifications throws away the labor force out the market. Thus, the problem of unemployment even further increases. Luckily, on a macro level, a significant decrease in the unemployment rate in Bulgaria can be observed. While seven years ago, the rate of unemployment varied between 18-20 %, the national statistical institute has recorded for the last 2004 a level of only 12 % unemployment.
Where is Vidin in the context of unemployment?
According to official statistics, the unemployment rate in Vidin is set at 27 % (8 345 people from the active work force). This unfortunately is one of the leading towns in this statistics in Bulgaria. An even greater problem is the fact that around 60 % of the unemployed citizens are young people at the age of 29 (21 % among the unemployed population in Vidin are young people at about 24 years, while 38 % of all unempoloyed people are between 24-29 years). The low demand on work force is a result of a slow economy and is combined with the effect of a low qualification benchmark of the young people in Vidin.
In view of the low quality of education and low qualifications in the work force respectively, where would our hometown Vidin fall in this category?
I think that the majority of You already know the answer …
This tendency has to change very soon, because our admission in the European Union gives opportunities, but it requires higher qualification and discipline.
Vidin will finally look like a European town, when investments towards increasing the quality of education start flowing and the establishment of an official and legitimate post-secondary institution with permanent teacher personnel become reality.
Thus, the local, quickly-growing young business will also benefit from a pool of progressive and qualified people.
Donka Panayotova
Chair person of the Board of managers
“Organization Drom” – Vidin
INTERVIEW with Ms. Donka Panayotova, 2010-01-16
INTEGRATION OF ROMA THROUGH EDUCATION, by Donka Panayotova
������� ��������� � ������������ ������� �� �������� ������� "����� �� ��������" �� ���
������� ��������� � ������� "����� �� ��������"
������� ��������� � "����� �� ��������"
���������� ����� ���� �������� ��������
������������ ����������� �10 ������ ������������ �� �������� ����������� � ��������� � ������� ������� �� ������ ��� �����
����� ������ ����� � �������� �������� ��������� ��������� �� ������ ������ �� ���������� �� ������
������ ��� ����� � �������� - �������������� � ��������������
������ ��� ����� ������ ��� �������
������� �� ���������� �� �� �������, ���� ������������ ����������� "����"
���� �� ����� ��� �� ���� �� ����� �����
����� ����������: ��� ��� ��� � ������� �� ����������, � �� �� �������� �������
����� ����������: �� ������������ �� ������ � ��������� ��� �������� �� �������� � � ���������� �� ���������
��� ����� �������� ������� ������� � ������������
����� ����������: ������ ���� ����� �� �� ���������� � ����������, �� ����� ����������� ���� �� �����������
|
