MCIC Promoted the Third Edition of "Civic Practices"

Roma Education in Macedonia

The presented opinions of the authors included contribute to high quality and serious analysis of the different aspects of this issue

The Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIC) promoted the third edition of "Civic Practices" in Holliday Inn hotel in Skopje, April 9, 2004, one day after the World Day of Roma.

The authors: Elena Tashkova, Slavko Sazdovski, Blagoja Trajkovski, Tihomir Karanfilov and Andifa Demirovska gave modest, but important observations of the experiences of the civic organizations and graded the current results regarding this issue. The presented opinions of the authors included contribute to high quality and serious analysis of the different aspects of Roma education in Macedonia.

Мr. Ahmet Jasharovski from the Center for Roma Community DROM from Kumanovo promoted the book, and Ms. Nahida Zekirova from the MCIC facilitated the event.

"This publication addresses the Roma question, and the texts offer certain solutions to this question. The authors didn't write just dry prose, but also presented the problem via official statistics and their sources," stated Mr. Jasharovski.

After the promotion of the third issue of "Civic Practices," a debate took place regarding its topic, the education problems of the Roma. Alongside the promoters, answers to the questions from the audience—which mainly consisted of members of mostly Roma civic organizations—provided the keynote speakers Marija Miloshevska from the Authority for Education of the Communities from the Ministry of Science and Roza Perusheska from the Bureau for Development of the Education from the Ministry of Education.

Some of the present audience also stressed the alarming situation with Roma education. "Out of 1,000 schoolchildren from Shuto Orizari,  only a 100, or ten percent, finish the primary education, which is obligation mandated by law," said Ljatif Demirovski from the Roma organization "Darhija."