News

Education would not solve all the problems in the Roma community, but without education, no problem could be solved!, said Ombudsman Maya Manolova at the opening of the Fifth National Meeting of Representatives of the Students' Parliaments from the country - Leader Academy "School of Tolerance" organized by Amalipe Center. "In Bulgaria, one of every seven child aged 15 to 18 does not study or work, which is an extremely high percentage. It is clear that education is the only chance to live outside the ghetto, the most important factor for having a good job, good income and a good prospect for yourself, "said Ms. Manolova.

The National Ombudsman emphasized her support for the introduction of free compulsory pre-school education, as integration started from the kindergarten. She congratulated the parliament and the government on the announcement of education as a national priority and the efforts for the full range of all students, but also indicated that 21,000 pupils dropped annually. The public defender praised the institutions and Center Amalipe for reducing of dropouts rate, but the problem still remains serious. You can see the whole welcoming speech in Bulgarian at https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YqCv9TjmJCw

The participating 150 pupils and parents were also greeted by the Head of the Regional Education Department - Sliven, Biserka Vasileva and the Deputy Governor Dimitrinka Petkova. The President of Amalipe Deyan Kolev drew attention to the high political presence that accompanies the National meetings of Chairs of the Students' Parliaments "School of Tolerance": the previous time our official guests were the Minister of Education and three ambassadors, now we are having with us the national ombudsman. All of them showed their support for our common efforts - to prevent school drop-outs. Until now, our efforts have been focusing primarily in primary education, and we are delighted to see that over 200 primary schools included in the "Every student will be a winner" program have reduced to zero the dropouts. That is why we are focusing on another important task - seventhgraders to continue their education in secondary schools and successfully finish it. We rely on you, the student leaders, to organize motivational campaigns for continuing secondary education, preventing early marriages, increasing motivation, etc., Kolev appealed.

The event was part of the Fifth National Meeting of Representatives of Students' Parliaments - Leadership Academy "School of Tolerance", held from 16th to 19th of November. It was attended by 120 students from schools working on "Every student will be a winner - 2" Project. More information about the School of Tolerance is available at www.amalipe.com.