In the field of education, there are still major discrepancies between Roma children and those of the majority population in terms of school participation, level of school performance and school dropout, as well as in relation to differentiated treatment, both in terms of the quality of the didactic act and discrimination and segregation. Among the main obstacles identified by the Council of the European Union in respecting the right to education, school segregation, early leaving of the education system and the poor participation of Roma children in early education are especially noteworthy.

Most research still reveals the gap between Roma and the majority population in educational levels, as well as the reduced access of Roma children to early education compared to those belonging to the majority population. Even if affirmative measures have been implemented in the field of education (separately allocated places for Roma at high school and university), or literacy programs of the "Second Chance" type for people who are at least 4 years older than the age corresponding to the schooling class, can still observe the gap between the Roma and the population
majority in terms of educational accumulations. The last census in Romania (2011) indicated that the share of ethnic Romanians who did not graduate from any school was 1% while the share of ethnic Roma was 14%. Of the total number of people considered illiterate, 229,721, almost 30% belong to the Roma minority (67,480). Conversely, if the share of the majority population with higher education was 15%, the share of ethnic Roma who had completed higher education was below 1%.

More recent research shows that two-thirds of ethnic Roma have either never graduated at all, or have graduated at most from secondary school, a share five times higher than that of the majority population. The gap is also preserved in the case of completed high school studies, the share of the majority population that completed high school studies being three times higher than that of ethnic Roma. The same study indicates that half of Roma people with no more than 8 completed grades either did not know how to write or had great difficulties in writing.

In recent years, Romania has not registered progress in the field of facilitating the access of Roma children to early education. No progress has been found in compulsory education either, even if the gap between the Roma and the majority population is smaller than in the case of early education. The share of Roma children who attend compulsory education is 78% (compared to 95% for Romanian children from the neighborhood). The gap increases again in the case of access to high school education, where we find less than a quarter of Roma students (22%), compared to the population
majority where the share rises to 80%.

Useful information

The framework order regarding the prohibition of school segregation in pre-university education units:

https:/www.edu.ro/sites/default/files/Ordin-cadru%206.134_2016%20interzicere%20segregare.pdf

Action directions Education

• Reducing school dropout among Roma students
• Increasing the degree of inclusion of Roma children in the formal educational system