(De)segregation in education

25 April 2007 to
Budapest, Hungary

Peer Learning Cluster or other group

Access and Social Inclusion

Background

The third Peer Learning Activity of the Cluster on Access and Social was organised by the Hungarian Minsitry of Education, in co-operation with the Roma Education Fund, and it focused on the situation of educational disadvantage encountered by the Roma community in Hungary.

There are at least 700,000 Roma in Hungary. They have been in Hungary for a long time and are sedentary. They live in remote rural areas or in disadvantaged districts of large towns, but almost always suffer from deep socio-economic disadvantage.

Their condition has significantly worsened since the end of Communism –due to their poorer qualifications, in the market economy a very large part of the Roma population suffer unemployment.                                        

The analysis however had a universal relevance, much beyond the specific problems of a single community. It implied a broad reflection on the equity of the system, on the reasons for inequity and on possible solutions which can be of relevance also in different contexts. 

Description

The PLA lasted two days and a half.

On the first afternoon, the group met at the premises of the Ministry of Education, and it was offered an overview of the specificities of the Hungarian education system and of the specificities of the Roma population within the system.

The second day consisted of on-site visits in the countryside (two villages about 100 km from Budapest), in order to see the problem in practice.

On the third day, there were onsite visits to an integrated school and to a special school, plus a final debriefing session.
 

Some key lessons learnt:

The issues listed below apply to the Hungarian/Roma situation but it was pointed out that the problems examined in the PLA constitute big challenges for most countries.

  • The PLA discovered several distortions – measures which had been conceived in support of disadvantaged groups but which eventually generated interests which conflicted with the original aim. While it is certainly very difficult to identify possible distortions when the measures are conceived, a regular evaluation would help to correct those measures which do not achieve their intended aim.
  • There is a direct relation between equity and quality assurance. A system where schools differ very significantly in quality does not guarantee equality of opportunities for all. Establishing a set of minimum quality standards related to teaching and school organisation, and monitoring them, should therefore be a priority.
  • Free school choice has largely contributed to the deepening of the inter-school gaps in Hungary. The plan by the Ministry to reduce school choice as from September 2007, combined with the support to the integrated education model, seems a highly interesting initiative which will, however, certainly create a large debate
  • Ensuring that well trained and experienced teachers work in disadvantaged schools would probably constitute a key step in improving the attractiveness of schools and thus rebalance the socioeconomic composition of pupils.

  • Guidance services seem to have a role in addressing disadvantaged pupils to vocational schools rather than grammar schools. 
For further reading:
PLA__Desegregation in education_April 07_final report.pdf
Knowledge System for Lifelong Learning