Education of Roma Pupils from Marginalized Environment in Special Schools and Its Impact on Success in the Slovak Labor Market

Abstract

In connection with the European Commission's action against Slovakia concerning the segregation of Roma pupils in the educational process and their inclusion in the system of special schools, issues related to their subsequent employment are also becoming legitimate. The aim of the paper is to identify how education in special schools affects their employment ability in the labour market. It is based on a secondary analysis of data available in the field of education and unemployment statistics. Our findings show that in Slovakia, there is a large proportion of children diagnosed with mental disabilities. When comparing with the situation abroad, we speak of a threefold, in some regions up to four times higher proportion of children diagnosed with mental disabilities. For Roma children, this means in practice that they complete their education segregated from their peers and have only a limited opportunity to continue their studies at secondary schools. We can state that the Slovak education system systematically excludes tens of thousands of children and young people not only from the education system, but also from the possibility of full employment in their lives and on the labour market.