Promoting the usa of ESI Funds for Roma inclusion

6.2. Training and education

In addition to the training activities foreseen in relation to employment,

specific actions

in the area of training and education are planned by most countries.

They are

mainly addressed by ESF funds and in some cases by ERDF funds

aimed at

the educational infrastructures (e.g. Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania).

They are planned within ESF Thematic Objective 10 ‘Investing in education, training and

vocational training for skills and life-long learning’ but also under Thematic Objective 9.

Most OPs give

priority to actions targeting Roma students

at two levels:

Support measures to facilitate Roma students’ access, continuation and completion

of the education system

(e.g. Roma mediators and class assistants, transition classes,

after school activities).

The

Croatian

Efficient Human Resources OP

(ESF) foresees the use of Roma class assistants

and other measures to support Roma students at the level of preschool and primary

education to speed up the process of their integration into the regular education system,

including the teaching of Croatian language. The

Greek

Human Resources Development,

Education and Lifelong Learning OP

(ESF) also plans ‘reception classes’ to support the

learning process of Greek as a second/foreign language and of other subjects in order to

facilitate the smooth adjustment and accommodation of students in the educational system.

Additionally, specialised services are provided by Roma mediators for the integration of

students coming from vulnerable social groups and students with cultural and religious

differences, including Roma.

Several OPs plan the development and implementation of after school activities. For

example, the

Croatian

Efficient Human Resources OP

(ESF) covers activities such as

extended board programmes, summer camps and extracurricular events focused on the

social integration of Roma pupils for disadvantaged students at pre-tertiary level. In the

Romanian

Human Capital OP

(ESF), programmes such as school after school promote

extra-curricular activities with a focus on the acquisition of key competences, school

desegregation and the increase of elements such as self-esteem and cultural education

Direct support to students

(e.g. academic support and guidance, tutoring and

counselling sessions, scholarships…)

Actions related to the

access and maintenance in the academic system,

with particular

attention to

early school leaving,

are priority areas for countries.