Obstacles to the education of Roma students and the possibilities of eliminating them from the perspective of Roma primary school students

Problemi slabijeg školskog uspjeha, prevelikog broja sati izostanaka iz škole i visoke stope preranog napuštanja sustava odgoja i obrazovanja diljem svijeta su prisutni među učenicima koji pripadaju siromašnijim društvenim skupinama, uključujući djecu pripadnike pojedinih etničkih manjina. Uzroci su mnogostruki, no u znanstvenoj se literaturi najčešće svode na dvije široke kategorije, od kojih se jedna odnosi na nedostatke sustava odgoja i obrazovanja, kao što su stereotipiziranje i nedostatak potpore, a druga na nedostatke učenika i njegove obitelji, odnosno uže zajednice, kao što su niže obrazovne aspiracije, disciplinski problemi, nezainteresiranost, prerana trudnoća i sl. Niska razina obrazovanosti je problem koji pogađa i pripadnike romske nacionalne manjine u Europi i Hrvatskoj. Godine 2002./2003. gotovo jedna trećina romske djece nije pohađala školu. Među romskim učenicima sa završenom osnovnom školom, vrlo malo ih prelazi u srednju školu, a zanemariv broj ih je višem i visokom obrazovanju. Romi žive u Republici Hrvatskoj više od 600 godina. Prema popisu stanovništva iz 2011. godine bilo ih je oko 17.000, iako se drži da je njihov stvarni broj višestruko veći. Najveći ih broj živi u Međimurskoj županiji koja broji 113.804 stanovnika, od čega je 5.107 pripadnika romske nacionalne manjine. Romska djeca čine oko 8% svih učenika u Županiji. U školskoj godini 2010./2011. predškolskim je odgojem bilo obuhvaćeno 223 djece romske nacionalnosti (od toga 93 u predškolskim ustanovama i 130 u programima predškole), osnovnu školu je pohađalo 1.489 učenika Roma, dok je srednju školu nastavilo tek 88 romskih učenika. Veliki problem predstavljaju prijelazi u peti i u osmi razred osnovnih škola, pa je tako broj romskih učenika upisanih u prvi razred u školskoj godini 2004./2005., u petom razredu bio smanjen za 21,29%, dok je u osmom razredu on smanjen za gotovo 75%.Problems of poorer school performance, too many hours of absence from school and high rates of drop out of school, around the world are the present among students belonging to poorer social groups, including children belonging to ethnic minorities. The causes are multiple, but in the scientific literature they are usually reduced to two broad categories: one refers to the shortcomings of the education system, such as stereotyping and lack of support, and the other to the shortcomings of the student and his family, such as lower educational aspirations, disciplinary problems, lack of interest, premature pregnancy, etc. Low level of education is a problem that also affects members of the Roma ethnic minority in Europe and Croatia. In the year 2002/2003 almost one third of Roma children did not attend school. Among Roma students who have completed primary school, very few transfer to secondary school, and a negligible number are in higher education. Roma live in Croatia more than 600 years. In 2011, there were about 17,000 of them, although it is assumed that the actual number is much higher. Most of them live in Međimurje County which has 113,804 inhabitants, of which 5,107 are members of the Roma national minority. About 8% of all students in the county are Roma children. In the year 2010/2011, 223 Roma children were included in preschool education, 1,489 Roma students attended primary school, and only 88 of them continued secondary school. Transitions to the fifth and eighth grades of primary schools are a big problem. The number of Roma students enrolled in the first grade in 2004/2005 decreased by 21.29% in the fifth grade and by almost 75% in the eighth grade