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Intervention in the area of education
8.
Talavera de la Reina.
Education.
Direct discrimination.
The parents of a young Roma student told us that
their daughter was enrolled in the first year of secondary school at a semi-private school in Talavera de la Reina.
In the middle of the school year the head teacher told the students that they needed to bring a certain amount
of money to school for material but the parents were unable to provide that amount for personal and economic
reasons.
The parents had already spoken with the school administration and explained that for the time being they
were unable to pay the EUR 50 that the school required of each student. They told us that their daughter
was subsequently punished for not bringing the money; she was made to stand facing the classroom wall
for an hour.
Their daughter was a particularly shy girl and the result was that she did not want to go back to school as some
of her classmates made fun of her. There were no other Roma girls in that class. The parents were concerned
because they didn’t want their daughter to feel inferior or rejected by her classmates.
The parents informed the school administration of what had happened in the hopes that this situation (which
they considered discriminatory) would not be repeated in the future.
9.
Valencia.
Education.
Direct discrimination.
A Romanian Roma couple went to enrol their child at the local
school but the deadline had already passed.
They told us that they had asked for help from the education specialist at the FSG’s Valencia office who tele-
phoned the school to tell them about the situation of this family and their son. The school told the FSG that they
would make an exception and extend the enrolment deadline.
However, when the parents went with their son to enrol him, the director told them that there were no openings
and that they would have to look elsewhere.
When the FSG called the school to find out what had happened, they again confirmed that they had extended
the enrolment deadline for that student. In the end, they did allow him to enrol at the school.
This is an example of how sometimes appropriate mediation can help correct a situation of discrimination.
10.
Mérida.
Education.
Direct discrimination.
A young teacher’s aide contacted the FSG’s Merida office to report
irregularities (situations of discrimination) at a school that was organising summer classes for Roma and Moroc-
can children in Merida.
After a meeting with the affected families it was decided that action needed to be taken as the alleged irreg-
ularities were confirmed.
A meeting was requested with the administration of the summer school in order to get first-hand information
about what was happening with the children at the summer school.
Before that meeting, the teacher’s aide told us that many parents were taking their children out of the summer
school.
We suggested sending a letter to the summer school administration on behalf of the parents to hear their side
of the story but they told us that they preferred not to take any action for fear of reprisals against their children
in future activities. .