The letter reflects the alleged deep-seated discrimination Roma children face in the Czech education system, with a disproportionate number of them being removed from mainstream schooling or placed in special classes.
Hoping to halt the apparent discriminatory practices, the European Commission first sent a formal notice to Prague in 2014, calling on it “to address the disproportionate and systemic placement of Roma pupils in separate schools for children with disabilities.”
While the Commission, in its new letter, recognized that some improvements, such as putting an end to the “special or practical schools’ regime,” had been put in place, it added that there was still much to do.
“However, the Commission's findings show that Roma children are still overrepresented in separate classes or schools for pupils with mental / physical impairments or severe developmental or behavioral disorders,” the Commission said in a statement.
“Furthermore, many Roma children who attend mainstream education in Czechia are also segregated in separate classes or schools, for example, in separate Roma-only classes or in Roma-only schools with lower education.
“The Commission urges Czechia to comply with EU law guaranteeing equality between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin,” it added.
The legal case against the Czech Republic dates back to 2007, when the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favor of Czech Roma activists, who had brought a case against the Czech state over alleged discrimination in the education system.
Despite the victory, the activists felt that the state had failed to abide by the ruling, so they took the case to the European Commission.
Almost a third of pupils in so-called “practical schools” are Roma, despite the Roma community making up less than 3% of the Czech Republic. International human rights organizations, like Amnesty International, have flagged this up as a serious problem.
The Czech Republic has two months to respond to the Commission’s formal notice.
“If nothing changes soon, Czechia can expect the European Commission to file a lawsuit in the Court of Justice of the European Union,” Viktor Daněk, a director at the Institute for European Policy, Europeum, told Czech broadcaster Radio Prague International.
