03.08.2016The new education act prohibits segregated classes and groups
The Act on pre-school and school education, which has entered into force on 1 August prohibits ethnic segregation at school level. Art. 99, para 4 states that "When students of different ethnicity are enrolled in the same class, their separation into classes based on their ethnicity is not allowed". Paragraph 6 of the same article carries this requirement to the vocational schools as well: "When in places designated by the state or supplemental plan for admission, are enrolled students from the same class with different ethnicity to be trained in the same class or in the same profession, differentiation based on their ethnicity is not allowed "
The Act prohibits segregation on "kindergarten" level. Art. 62, para. 4 states that "When in kindergarten are enrolled children of different ethnicity of the same age, it is not allowed to differentiate them in groups (under par. 1) on the basis of their ethnicity."
These standards are the first of its kind provided in an act of such a high level, as the education Act. So far anti-segregation texts were set in the Strategy for Educational Integration of Children and Students from Ethnic Minorities (2004, 2010, 2015), as there are an essential part of the document. But the normative status of the strategy is too low - a decision of the minister. Texts promoting education in ethnically mixed environment are included in the National Strategy of the Republic of Bulgaria for Roma integration, which was adopted by the Parliament. But they do not prohibit the de-facto existence of segregated classes and groups. Thus, the inclusion of these paragraphs is the first time to put desegregation policies in education on political level. This was achieved as a result of sustained advocacy since 2010, coordinated by the Center "Amalipe" and supported by dozens of organizations and more than 260 schools. The inclusion of these texts meet the support of the chairman of the Committee on Education and Science in the Parliament Milena Damianova and the leadership of the Ministry of Education.
In practice art. 99, para. 4 and 6, and Art. 62, para. 4 of the Act mean prohibition of the existing malpractice in ethnically mixed schools and kindergartens to differentiate monoethnic ( "Gypsy") classes and groups, which led to the real situation of no communication between that children from different ethnic groups at school and to the very low quality of education at the so called "gypsy classes". Since August 1, 2016, any school principal who admitted the diffrentiation of classes or groups of children from one ethnic group in ethnically mixed schools and kindergartens violates the law and can be judged.
Those articles do not concern the so-called rural schools and kindergartens in which are thought children of only one ethnic group, because of objective demographic reasons. They also do not concern segregated schools in the cities, since they also train students from a single ethnic group.
Unfortunately, MPs did not accept texts that prohibit segregated schools in settlements with students from different ethnicities. How to limitate segregated education will be provided in the state educational standard for civic and intercultural education, which has been developing at the moment.
The Act on pre-school and school education, which has entered into force on 1 August prohibits ethnic segregation at school level. Art. 99, para 4 states that "When students of different ethnicity are enrolled in the same class, their separation into classes based on their ethnicity is not allowed". Paragraph 6 of the same article carries this requirement to the vocational schools as well: "When in places designated by the state or supplemental plan for admission, are enrolled students from the same class with different ethnicity to be trained in the same class or in the same profession, differentiation based on their ethnicity is not allowed "
The Act prohibits segregation on "kindergarten" level. Art. 62, para. 4 states that "When in kindergarten are enrolled children of different ethnicity of the same age, it is not allowed to differentiate them in groups (under par. 1) on the basis of their ethnicity."
These standards are the first of its kind provided in an act of such a high level, as the education Act. So far anti-segregation texts were set in the Strategy for Educational Integration of Children and Students from Ethnic Minorities (2004, 2010, 2015), as there are an essential part of the document. But the normative status of the strategy is too low - a decision of the minister. Texts promoting education in ethnically mixed environment are included in the National Strategy of the Republic of Bulgaria for Roma integration, which was adopted by the Parliament. But they do not prohibit the de-facto existence of segregated classes and groups. Thus, the inclusion of these paragraphs is the first time to put desegregation policies in education on political level. This was achieved as a result of sustained advocacy since 2010, coordinated by the Center "Amalipe" and supported by dozens of organizations and more than 260 schools. The inclusion of these texts meet the support of the chairman of the Committee on Education and Science in the Parliament Milena Damianova and the leadership of the Ministry of Education.
In practice art. 99, para. 4 and 6, and Art. 62, para. 4 of the Act mean prohibition of the existing malpractice in ethnically mixed schools and kindergartens to differentiate monoethnic ( "Gypsy") classes and groups, which led to the real situation of no communication between that children from different ethnic groups at school and to the very low quality of education at the so called "gypsy classes". Since August 1, 2016, any school principal who admitted the diffrentiation of classes or groups of children from one ethnic group in ethnically mixed schools and kindergartens violates the law and can be judged.
Those articles do not concern the so-called rural schools and kindergartens in which are thought children of only one ethnic group, because of objective demographic reasons. They also do not concern segregated schools in the cities, since they also train students from a single ethnic group.
Unfortunately, MPs did not accept texts that prohibit segregated schools in settlements with students from different ethnicities. How to limitate segregated education will be provided in the state educational standard for civic and intercultural education, which has been developing at the moment.
