Fundación Secretariado Gitano promotes the obtention of the Online Secondary School Graduate Diploma for Adults in a Socio-labour integration itinerary [editar]
The developed pilot project demonstrates that adapted online training is an effective way to reduce the educational gap and improve job opportunities for the Roma.
Last October we started, along with INAV (Official Online Education Centre) as a collaborating educational centre, a pilot project to obtain the Secondary School Graduate online. The project is developed within the framework of the Social Inclusion, Youth Guarantee and Fight against Poverty Programme of the ESF+ with the aim of facilitating the attainment of the secondary school graduate certificate for adults who are following an itinerary of socio-labour integration within the Acceder programme of the Fundación Secretariado Gitano.
Throughout the course we have seen how this online methodology, which in principle may seem more complicated than the traditional one because it does not have a set timetable and is online, really facilitates a real work-life balance for the students and a flexible timetable adapted to their individual needs. The possibility of studying online opens the door for all these people to gain access to something as important for access to employment as the Compulsory Secondary Education Graduate, combining it with their daily lives.
Throughout the pilot project, the course has been carried out with students from 36 cities with a wide range of ages, from 18 to 47 years old, although the majority of participants are between 20 and 28 years old. Likewise, in terms of the territorial scope of the project, the course has been implemented jointly with employment teams from the Fundación Secretariado Gitano in 36 different cities. These data show us that the online methodology not only allows us to reconcile time, but also makes it easier for people with very different needs and situations to benefit from a programme such as this one.
The results of the 2024/25 academic year have been a complete success as 100% of the students enrolled in level 2 (which corresponds to 3rd and 4th year of the Secondary Education phase in Spain, the last two years) have graduated. This will allow them to continue their education and will open the door to decent, quality employment. On the other hand, 90% of the students enrolled in level 1 (which corresponds to 1st and 2nd ESO, the first years of the Secondary Education phase) are promoted to the next year, passing all the subjects.
We are currently preparing for the new academic year 2025-26. With the registration period already closed, we have more than 100 Roma people interested in participating in this opportunity. Thanks to the good reception of the project, we have managed to increase the number of places from 50 to 75, which will allow more participants in the social and labour integration itinerary of the Acceder programme to take advantage of this opportunity.
In this way, the Fundación Secretariado Gitano contributes to the fight against inequality, which is shown in data such as the fact that only 17% of Roma people have completed secondary education compared to 80% of the general population (according to the Comparative study on the situation of the Roma population in Spain in relation to employment and poverty 2018).