Amalipe Center organized the tenth traditional meeting of Roma teachers with the Minister of Education: what did Minister Valchev share about the return to insitu education and other current issues

Amalipe Center observed the tradition of organizing a meeting of teachers and future pedagogues of Roma origin with the Minister of Education on the occasion of the International Roma Day on April 8 again this year. Due to the state of emergency, the meeting was held online through the Zoom platform. More than 70 teachers of Roma origin asked questions to Minister Krassimir Valchev, Greta Gancheva – project manager “Support for Success” and Lalo Kamenov – executive director of the Center for Educational Integration of Children and Students from Ethnic Minorities. The meeting was organized by the Amalipe Center for the tenth consecutive year on the occasion of the International Roma Day – April 8.

The aim of the meeting was to draw attention to the large number of pedagogues of Roma origin who work in the field of education in Bulgaria and thus contribute to changing attitudes towards the Roma community, to increase sensitivity to the need for support among Roma institutions studying. in pedagogical specialties, as well as to enable teachers and students of pedagogy of Roma origin to share about their journey from the neighborhood to the university, then to the classroom as teachers; the challenges they faced along the way, what motivated them to succeed and at the same time keep their identity, how they fight stereotypes, etc.

During the meeting the Roma pedagogues shared their challenges on the way to professional realization and accordingly asked the questions that excite them – as Roma and as pedagogues: about the regime of return to face-to-face education, stereotypes and prejudices in the education system, segregation of Roma children. in a separate school, for the future of educational mediators, etc. The participants talked with the Minister on the most pressing issues concerning the education of Roma children and their work as teachers: educational segregation, the full scope and prevention of school dropout, the introduction of intercultural education. As expected, they also addressed a number of issues related to distance learning in an e-environment, national external evaluation in a pandemic, the continuation of the Support for Success project and many others. What Minister Valchev and the experts from the Ministry of Education shared, you can see below.

The Ministry of Education and Science plans for students to begin returning to face-to-face training immediately after the holidays. It will take place in the way it was interrupted in mid-March – all primary classes and three of the junior / high school classes will return to the classrooms. In schools with a small number of students, it is likely that all other classes with only one class per class will be able to return in person.

Regarding the return of the students in person, Minister Valchev clarified that the final decision will be taken by the Minister of Health and announced on Thursday, April 8. Most likely, the rotation of junior high and high school classes will be in two weeks, as it was until mid-March. The proposal of the Ministry of Education and Science is to first return the students from 7th, 8th and 10th grade to the classrooms, and then – in case of a favorable development of the pandemic, 5th, 11th and 12th grade will take their place. Only 6th and 9th grade will finally return. Minister Valchev pointed out that it is important to keep in the classrooms of the primary classes, for which the current school year is primarily present.

Within a month, the schools will start receiving computer devices under the REACT-EU mechanism, said Minister Valchev. Over 80,000 mobile computers will be provided to all schools. In addition, tablets will be delivered to schools with a concentration of students without distance learning devices in an electronic environment.
The national external assessment in 4th and 10th grade will be conducted, and its main function is to provide guidance on how the respective alumni develop. “I have forbidden the regional administrations to compare the schools on the basis of the results of the NGOs and to make rankings of the schools,” Krassimir Valchev pointed out.
The Ministry of Education and Science plans to continue the Support for Success project for another year, although the project budget is almost entirely spent. We will offer the OPNOIR Executive Agency to use savings from other schemes and projects to fund “Success Support” for another year. We are ready to provide additional funding from the state budget, but in any case we will continue the additional training, as well as the activities of educational mediators.
Expect detailed information about the discussion of Minister Valchev with Roma teachers at www.amalipe.bg
April 8 is International Roma Day, proposed by Romani Union during the First World Roma Congress and approved in 1992 by the United Nations and the Council of Europe. Today, the European Union recognizes and celebrates April 8 as International Roma Day. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first Roma Congress and the beginning of the modern Roma movement. To mark this anniversary, Roma organizations in Bulgaria and Europe are planning a number of events and activities. Due to the KOVID-19 pandemic, all events will be online.
See more here
See more Center Amalipe will celebrate April 8 with a series of events