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Cases of discrimination in education
We heard the administrative assistant herself speaking on the phone to the head of the school in question:
“I’ve already heard all of those stories; it is your duty to enrol these students.”
The young girls told us that they did not want to file a complaint for fear of reprisals.
5.
Almendralejo.
Education.
Direct discrimination.
The FSG in Merida struck a verbal agreement for a theoretical
and practical training internship with a local business for a job as a cafeteria assistant. For the practical training, a
person from the company tried to arrange an internship with different schools in the town of Almendralejo (near
Mérida). The FSG confirmed the situation of discrimination after receiving the call from the company informing us
that it was impossible to arrange the internship due to the refusal by several administrators to allow Roma interns
in their schools. The course, part of a Professional Competence Certificate, could not be completed because the
internship is an essential part of the training.
This is an example of the barriers faced by many young Roma today in trying to access training and employ-
ment.
6.
Zaragoza.
Education.
Direct discrimination.
R, a woman from Zaragoza who does not want to reveal her
identity, took part in a training course together with a staff member of the Acceder employment programme in
Alicante. R lives in a suburb of Zaragoza where there are no utilities, i.e. no electricity, water and not even side-
walks. She decided to go back to school to improve her future so she enrolled in a semi-private school close to
her home where she could take adult classes. When R started she was the only Roma person at the school (now
there are three because her children currently attend the same school). Many families complained when they
learned that R was studying at the school. On several occasions they asked her to leave the classroom and took
her to another room where they checked to see if she had lice. They also checked her children for lice in the
presence of their classmates. She told us that on one occasion a mobile phone went missing and they made her
open her handbag in front of the rest of the class, unfairly accusing her of stealing it. She was the only person
asked to open her handbag. No other student was under suspicion. R was so humiliated that she automatically
opened her bag every day to show her classmates that she hadn’t taken anything. She then stopped carrying a
bag at all and transported her books under her arm so that no one would accuse her of theft.
The victim decided against filing a complaint or grievance.
7.
Barcelona Education.
Direct discrimination.
A 13-year old Romanian boy was enrolled in a Barcelona
secondary school by the FSG’s Eastern Roma-Catalonia team in January 2013 as part of a work plan with
his mother’s family.
In early March we received a call from the mother who told us that her son had had a problem in class and asked
us to mediate with the teacher and to see whether the teacher would explain why she decided to sit the boy
next to the window.
On March 5th 2013 we met with the mother and her son to establish the facts. According to the child, he felt
bad because he had been made to sit next to the open window because of the foul smell in the classroom
which he was being blamed for. The mother was both worried and angry because not only was her son suffering
discrimination at the hands of the teacher, he was also in danger of becoming ill as the weather was very cold.
When we approached the school with this complaint we were told that it was a temporary situation. No further
explanation was offered.
8.
Asturias.
Education.
Direct discrimination.
The Fundación Secretariado Gitano’s Promociona Programme was
in operation in a Secondary School in Aviles. However, when we proposed the presentation of the aware-
ness-raising campaign “Roma with an Education, Roma with a Future” which included a press conference and
putting up posters around the school, the administration opposed claiming that an event such as this would only