OSCE Kosovo Mission sponsors courses for Roma teachers
School boy in class at the Roma community camp in Krusevac, Kosovo. (Lubomir Kotek/OSCE) Photo details
PRISTINA, 30 August 2004 - A four-week training course for Roma teachers aimed at developing the resources for the establishment of a Roma minority curriculum ended in Prizren.
Twenty-eight Roma teachers and potential teachers from different parts of Kosovo have learned how to become educators in Romani language, literature, history and culture. Together they will form the first generation of qualified Romani language teachers in Kosovo.
This project is part of the OSCE Kosovo Mission's efforts - co-ordinated with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) - to help improve the quality of education for Kosovo's smaller communities. The training course was co-sponsored by UNICEF and the Kosovo Foundation for Open Society (KFOS).
"The integration of Roma children within Kosovo's education system has faced a number of challenges," said Gianfranco D'Eramo, Adviser on Minority Rights for the OSCE Mission. "The training of qualified teachers can be seen as a positive step in laying the groundwork for the integration of Roma children into the system. "
The first session, organized by the Kosovo Education Development Programme, consisted of training in contemporary teaching methods and was held earlier this summer.
The OSCE Mission continues to support MEST in fulfilling its obligations concerning the educational rights of Roma. Current initiatives - all developed in close co-operation with the Kosovo Roma community - include assisting the Ministry in preparing primary and secondary school curriculum in the Romani language as well as sponsoring catch-up classes in several municipalities.
Twenty-eight Roma teachers and potential teachers from different parts of Kosovo have learned how to become educators in Romani language, literature, history and culture. Together they will form the first generation of qualified Romani language teachers in Kosovo.
This project is part of the OSCE Kosovo Mission's efforts - co-ordinated with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) - to help improve the quality of education for Kosovo's smaller communities. The training course was co-sponsored by UNICEF and the Kosovo Foundation for Open Society (KFOS).
"The integration of Roma children within Kosovo's education system has faced a number of challenges," said Gianfranco D'Eramo, Adviser on Minority Rights for the OSCE Mission. "The training of qualified teachers can be seen as a positive step in laying the groundwork for the integration of Roma children into the system. "
The first session, organized by the Kosovo Education Development Programme, consisted of training in contemporary teaching methods and was held earlier this summer.
The OSCE Mission continues to support MEST in fulfilling its obligations concerning the educational rights of Roma. Current initiatives - all developed in close co-operation with the Kosovo Roma community - include assisting the Ministry in preparing primary and secondary school curriculum in the Romani language as well as sponsoring catch-up classes in several municipalities.