Poland Ministry to Close Gypsy-Only Classes
AP, August 1, 2008
Poland’s Education Minister plans to shut down Gypsy-only school classes following complaints they are discriminatory.
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In 2004, the Council of Europe in 2004 appealed to Poland and other nations with Roma, or Gypsy, minorities to put an end to segregated classes.
But Poland’s Dziennik daily newspaper reported this week that, according to Interior Ministry data, separate Gypsy classes were run this year in five southern and eastern towns.
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One school even had separate entrances for Gypsies and Poles, according to the paper.
Krzysztof Stanowski, Hall’s deputy, told The Associated Press that all children will be put together, regardless of ethnicity, as of Sept. 1.
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He said the Ministry of Education opposed any kind of discrimination, and praised the newspaper for raising the issue.