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Czech Republic: Discrimination against Roma pupils ‘hasn’t been stopped’

AMNESTY International accused the Czech Republic yesterday of failing to comply with a European court order to stop placing Gypsy children in schools for students with learning difficulties.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2007 that the practice must stop.

A report found that Roma Gypsies still make up almost 30 per cent of children in schools for those with learning difficulties, while the community makes up less than 3 per cent of the population.

“The widespread segregation of Romani children is a horrifying example of systematic prejudice, with schools introducing children to discrimination at an early age,” said Amnesty International secretary-general Salil Shetty.

The Education Ministry claimed it had addressed the issue and that the number of Roma children in such schools fell by 11 per cent last year.

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