As of September 2021, all basic schools in Slovenia with high numbers of Roma pupils can take on Roma assistants to facilitate their integration in education. These assistants join the existing school education staff.  There is a difference between the two education job profiles: comparatively, there are lower requirements for applying for Roma assistants in terms of educational qualification, but they have to be proficient in Roma language.

Roma assistants are not qualified teachers, they only have to have completed upper secondary education or obtained a national vocational specific qualification “Roma assistant”. To obtain the national vocational qualification for Roma assistants, candidates have to have and evidence of experience working with Roma, sufficient knowledge of the Slovenian language and proficient knowledge of the Roma language (one of the spoken local dialects). To prove the knowledge of language, candidate have to provide a reference letter from the local Roma organisations.  

Starting in the 2021/2022 school year, the basic schools with over 15 Roma students can employ a 0.5 full time equivalent Roma assistant, and schools with over 30 can employ 1 full time Roma assistant. Mainstream basic schools, as well as institutions that provide the adapted and/or the special education programme for SEN children can also classify a job post for an assistant staff to support the Roma students. 

Roma assistants are not new to the Slovenian education system, but they have been a long-standing project based endeavour to improve the educational achievement of Roma students. The profile has been developed within developmental projects co-financed by the ESF over the last two decades. Roma assistants have long served as a link between Roma communities and schools with the aim to increase school attendance among Roma students as well as their successful completion on basic education. 

The measure to introduce Roma assistants in the system is one of the new systemic measures aimed to increase and improve the integration of Roma into education system. A wide gap still exists in educational attainment between members of the Roma communities in Slovenia and the larger population. Henceforth, a new Strategy for integration of Roma into education system has been drafted. It is planned to be discussed by the Council of Experts for General Education in spring 2022. 

Source: Eurydice Unit Slovenia