Diary Education news
The payment of the scholarships is late, the parents are in dilemma whether their children to go to school
Bilent is a student in the third year in a gymnasium. He is a great student and he is very fond of history. He says that he is going to study a history when he’ll finish the high school. He constantly read books and whenever he has extra money, he always buys books from the area of history. But, the financial situation of his family and therefore, of himself, doesn’t allow him doing many things he likes.
The financial help for the Roma students is late, as well as the calls for the scholarships for the Roma students that the Government promised as huge help for this school year. The reason for this is the still not defined concept for these projects. In the meantime, the parents are hoping for this help and they are calculating and setting priorities for their many expenses because many of the Roma students can’t afford to buy books and notebooks, can’t have the basic materials for normal attending to school. And three months passed since the school year started. The future of many Roma children that want to continue their education is ,hanging in the air, because many of the parents are hesitating to send their children to school or not, because they don’t have money or stable incomes. The parents hoped that with the financial help from the Government will ease the education of their children. But, nor the announcement of the Ministry for labor and social politics and the Ministry for education and science that the problems will be sort in a short period of time, can not persuade the majority of the parents not to sealed the destiny of their children, and to shorten the possibility for education.
Bilent is a student in the third year in a gymnasium. He is a great student and he is very fond of history. He says that he is going to study a history when he’ll finish the high school. He constantly read books and whenever he has extra money, he always buys books from the area of history. But, the financial situation of his family and therefore, of himself, doesn’t allow him doing many things he likes, Many times I don’t eat at school or I don’t go out like my friends just to keep money to buy a book, stated Bilent.
His parents are using state beneficiary and they have money just to survive. The Bilent’s father sometimes work something illegal just to provide enough money, so that Bilent can buy books.
„I love my son and I want to help him in his life, so that he will fight for better life, so that he can have basic conditions to learn and I’m doing my best although we are five membered family, we don’t have enough money for food. If we will not receive the money from the Government, my child’s education is on a question mark, I don’t know what we are going to do, stated Sherif, Bilent’s father.“
For this school year, big releaf for the family budget were the books provided by the Government – Ministry for education, but the parents say that nevertheless the fact that the students got their free books, they had to buy notebooks, pens, pencils and other basic school equipment. Plus, food and clothing.
„I don’t know how we will handle the whole situation if we supposed to buy the books too, but beside that, there are a lot of other expenses, the children ask for more money, we are having less and less, adds Sherif.“
At the begging of the school year there was an announcement that all the students in the high school that are state beneficiary users will receive financial help too. All the families that receive social help and have children in high school was planed to get additional financial help from the Government, supported from the World bank. It was planed that this financial help should be used for buying clothes and food for the students. The first rate of this help was planned to be given in the beginning of December, when the official representatives will have a proof that students were attending school on a regular basis.But, there are no news about this project that was supposed to aim the poor families.
„The criteria for this project are not defined completely and the whole project is not clarified till the end yet. There is no set a concrete date line, but we are working on the project and we’ll publish the call when we’ll have complete project, stated from the Ministry for labor and social politics.“
Because of the delayed additional financial help, the calls for scholarships for Roma students are late too. Around 800 students in high schools are waiting the call to be published. They are mad because the Ministry for education doesn’t inform them, they don’t have any information what is happening with the scholarships. Many of them are thinking to leave the school.
„We are working on the calls very intensively and we hope that in the middle of December we will publish the calls, stated from the Ministry for education and science.“
By then, the Roma students and their parents must find the way out how they will educate their children, they must find money so that they can buy cloths for them, additional school literature and meals.
The changed ,picture, about the Roma in education did not help them in their battle for their rights. The given obligation in the last years – to show that they are ready for reforms in their community, to dedicate themselves to the education, which is the main moment for socialization of the Roma ethnic community. The ,picture, in the previous years has changed, but the privileges for the Roma students are still on a very low level. The social scan of the Roma people is well known, the poverty is still ruling among them, but the state promised that it will take care about the education, that all students will get proper education, and for that, of course, the money is necessary.
Ines Mustafovska
