The Curse of Low Expectations

The cycle of low education in Roma communities is one of the most difficult aspects for Roma communities to overcome. Roma parents may be illiterate, and unable to read the notification advising them to enroll their children by a particular date. They may never even get such a notification: Roma in many countries live in marginalized settlements, often illegal or unregulated, and their children are not included in the usual call for enrollment. With poor access to health care, Roma children may not have the medical certificate required for registration.

In many countries, Roma have been disproportionately placed into schools for children with intellectual disabilities for years; graduates of these types of schools aren’t qualified to do more than the most simple jobs, and cannot even progress to higher education should they want to. Where’s the value there?