Diary Education news
PUBLIC CALL FOR SCHOLARSHIPS
Around 800 Roma students will get scholarships and mentors
It’s not easy to get along with the everyday with several children that have to go to school, and not enough money, say the parents
With a delay of several months, the Ministry for education and science finally published the call for scholarships of 800 Roma students in high schools, from the first to third year of education. The project that was planed to implement in November last year is going to be realized with cooperation of the Roma Education Fund from Budapest. The project will be implemented in two phases. In the first phase it is projected the Ministry to provide scholarships for 800 Roma students in high school. The scholarships will be up to 2.200 Denars, while in the second phase they will receive additional help in the studying process by professional mentors and tutors in order to follow the class more efficiently.
According to the Ministry for education and science, it is planned that the mentors will help students to overwhelm all the difficulties during their education. They will ensure that every student receive individual support and they will help them to develop their skills for learning and solving problems connected with school, as well as their personal problems, and they will ease their integration in the social life of their schools. According to the Ministry for education, this will help the Roma students to fit in more successfully in the school life.
We will provide the scholarships in nine months lasting period and the mentors that are planed to be helpful in the learning process of the students as well as in their better socialization at school will give tutorial help mainly in math, but also in other subjects, depending on the need of the Roma students, stated the minister for education and science Nikola Todorov.
This scholarship is huge challenge for the student Jasmin. He is excellent and regular student and he is fulfilling the criteria. He says that he already applied. He expects to be one of the 800 students that will receive scholarship.
2.200 denars is small amount of money, but better something than nothing. My parents don’t have money. My father works in one private company, but my family has six members. If I got the scholarship, that will be help me to finish the school year. I might not be able to hang with my friends after school, but I’ll have money to buy snickers and jeans - says Jasmin.
2.200 denars is very symbolic amount of money, say some unsatisfied parents of students in high school. They say that this money is not enough for food, and not to say about clothing and shoes or additional literature and books. They want to know how the institutions calculate this amount. According to their calculations this amount of money is minimal.
It is far from easy in these difficult times to handle with the children-students. It’s even more difficult if it’s not only one student, but two, three from one family, add the parents.
Redzep Ali Cupi, the director of the Directorate for development of the education of the languages of the representatives of communities in Macedonia adds that 2.200 Denars is significant amount that will positively influence on students and that will courage them to achieve better grades at school. According the fact that the education is free of charge, that the books, transport and accommodation of the students in high schools is provided, he thinks that this money are enough for the needs of one student per month.
According to him, the students that will get the scholarship, they will receive it starting from March and until the end of the school year, they will receive the whole nine.
This project of the Ministry for education and science in cooperation with the Roma Education Fund is similar to that one that was realized in 2004 by the SOROS Foundation. The project from SOROS lasted for four years and it was one of the most successful projects in education of the Roma students and it was headed for accomplishing possibilities for better learning, especially in their passing from one level to another in the educational process, where the possibilities of drop-outs among the Roma students are higher.
