Background

The results of the 2011 survey in 11 EU Member States and the EU MIDIS 2016 FRA Survey covering 9 EU Member States confirm that largely Roma children are behind in educational achievement and show a considerable gap between Roma and non-Roma children attending schooling. Despite the efforts to expand and improve education for Roma children over the years, as many as 50% of Roma children in Europe fail to complete primary education and only a quarter complete secondary education. Participation in education drops considerably after compulsory education where only 15% of young Roma adults have completed upper-secondary general or vocational education. The levels of illiteracy amongst young Roma remain comparably high for Europe where almost 50% of Roma are illiterate or moderately literate. Without compulsory education completion, many young Roma are unable to meet the basic requirements for vocational education programmes. These low participation rates in education for Roma and Traveller children and youth are particularly alarming since educational factors have a direct and an acute impact on life chances. What emerges from the data is that Roma youth are by far the most disadvantaged youth within the EU.

The importance of the Romani mentors, so called “ambassadors” in terms of role models is assessed as possible tool for effective implementation of the integration process of Roma people. Presenting the success and the good results of the education in the personal development is essential. Based on past European and international experience, the establishment of mentoring programmes seems to be a viable way of integrating Sinti and Roma into schools. In order to pass on the experience and to be able to further develop and evaluate the programmes, networking is of great importance. Furthermore, it is essential that Roma mediators acquire a professional attitude that can help them deal with conflict situations. To this end, systematic supervision and collegial advice seems indispensable. Another important prerequisite is that the schools and educational authorities concerned recognize and support the work of the mediators.