29/11/2024
FSG Internacional
The comparative report assesses progress towards the objectives of the European Education Area. These include the percentage of children in early childhood education, school leaving rates, levels of basic skills (reading, mathematics and science) and digital skills, or the participation of adults in education or training. All these topics are of relevance to the Roma population, which is undoubtedly at disadvantage in all of them. However, this monitor report does not include specific references to the situation of the Roma population with respect to these indicators, a fact that we at Fundación Secretariado Gitano (FSG) regret. The available data on the situation of the Roma population in terms of education and training (Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union, for example) are far from the proposed objectives for 2026 and 2030. From FSG we ask that mainstream tools and reports also give greater visibility to the situation of the Roma people, the largest minority in Europe, and to the great challenge of closing the educational gap, a fundamental key to achieving higher rates of equality.
On the other hand, we welcome the inclusion in the report on Spain of a reference to the report The educational situation of Roma Students in Spain, published by FSG in 2023, which provides relevant data: “... the educational levels of the Roma population continue to be below the Spain’s national average. Only 17.3% of Roma children enrol in early childhood education and care, and usually do so at an older age. The rates of early leavers from education and training (ELET) and of those not in education, employment or training (NEET) in the Roma population are much higher than in Spain as a whole. In 2022, the ELET rate for the Roma population was 86.3% (Spain 13.9%) and the NEET rate was 59.4% (Spain 12.3%), while 6 out of 10 Roma children do not complete compulsory secondary education (FSG, 2023).”.
This reference also highlights the value of the FSG's Promociona programme, which since 2009 has been working to improve the educational opportunities of Roma students, with the focus on supporting them to obtain the Compulsory Secondary Education Certificate and continue their post-compulsory studies. During the 2022-2023 academic year, “97% of the programme’s students could enter compulsory secondary education, 79% obtained the lower secondary graduate degree, and 89% of them continued in upper secondary education. The success rate of the programme shows that targeted support and guidance to disadvantaged groups such as Roma, can significantly increase educational outcomes.”. More information on the results and impact of this program can be found in the FSG annual report.
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