Search

This article examines the education level of Romany population and suggests ways of overcoming and future possibilities. In the post-war Czechoslovakia there was a strong tendency to assimilate the Romanies. Romany population was perceived as backward social group and not as independent ethnic community. Political and ideological approaches to Romanies, which accentuated solving of social problems in area of housing, employment, financial aid to socially weak multi-children families, determined also the questions of education and upbringing of Romany children and liquidation of illiteracy of adults. Education of Romanies was complemented by an array of other measures such as classes for illiterate persons, various classes for youth and women to enable them to acquire skills and educational classes for men during the military service. In spite of all this effort and partial improvement in quality of education, attendance and grades, the change of schooling system, which ignored specificity of Romany ethnicity, was necessary. The perspective of overcoming of educational handicap of Romany population contains many open questions.