Associated Press
By Pablo Gorondi

A new report says nearly half of the millions of Gypsy children in the European Union never attend school, while in Eastern Europe, many are forced into schools for the mentally deficient.

The report, commissioned by Save the Children and released Wednesday, painted a dismal picture of the education of Gypsies -or Roma, as they often identify themselves- in 14 European countries, including many of the 15 EU nations.

Almost half of the estimated 8 million Roma in Europe are in three countries: About 2 million are in Romania, with 800,000 each in Spain and Bulgaria.

Schooling figures for Gypsies are sometimes higher in the former communist states - a legacy of the drive by former regimes to educate all social classes.

But the report said that some of those countries often use overcrowded segregated schools for Roma education.

And sometimes, Roma children who show no problems with learning are lumped together in schools for the mentally deficient for no other reason than race, the report said.

It also said that one-third of all Gypsy children in Europe never go to school, one-third attend segregated institutions and many of the one-third at normal schools drop out because of bullying and other social problems.

`Governments must take the initiative and stop what amounts to classroom apartheid,'Mike Aaronson, director of Save the Children, told reporters.

He also called on governments to provide long-term funding for Roma education programs, monitor the results and learn from successful education programs of charities and nongovernment organizations.

Still, Maria Andruszkiewicz, one of the writers, said there were signs of hope, such as `adequate policy frameworks in place in virtually every European country.'

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!