TĂRNĂ-ROM UNION INVITES GOVERNMENT TO PARTICIPATE MORE ACTIVELY IN SOLVING GYPSY CHILDREN’S EDUCATION PROBLEM

Chisinau. The Tărnă-Rom Union asks the Government and the Ministry of Education and Youth to participate more actively in solving the education problem of the Gypsy children.

Tărnă-Rom Chairman Marin Ala said at a News conference in Infotag on Tuesday that about 7 thousand Gypsy children live in Moldova and only 2.8 thousand of them attend school.

“Unfortunately, many Gypsies do not go to school because of their poverty. A monthly income of a Gypsy family does not exceed 400 lei. That is why, Gypsy children have nothing to put on and to eat. Under such conditions they cannot go to school”, Ala said.

In his words, another problem is the discrimination of Gypsy children, in the first place, by teachers, who place them separately and on last desks.

Ala recognized that there is the Moldovan Government’s decree concerning the Gypsy education, but there are no instruments for its implementation.

Everything looks very nice on paper, but in the real life there are no mechanisms, which would help Gypsy children to attend school and not to be subject to discrimination. We hope that the Government will hear us, assess the situation and work out a strategy, which will change the life of young Gypsies in Moldova for the better”, he said.