Roma Children Access to Early Childhood Services in Albania

Home , Berat, Dushk, Fier, Grabian, Mbrostar

ROMA CHILDREN ACCESS TO EARLY

CHILDHOOD SERVICES

Final assessment

APRIL 2017

Reproduction of parts of this document is authorised, except for commercial purposes, provided that the source is acknowledged.

This document has been prepared for UNICEF, CRCA, YWCA and Observatory; however, it reflects the views only of the authors, and the organisations and donors cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Authors:

Altin Hazizaj

Pranvera Elezi

Mersila Ballo

Reference: Hazizaj A., Elezi P., Ballo M., Final Assessment into the Access of Roma Children to Early Childhood Services in Albania, UNICEF / CRCA Albania/ YWCA / Observatory, Tirana 2016.

English proofreading: Barkley S.

This assessment is part of the “Every Roma child in kindergarten project”, supported technically and financially by UNICEF.

Photo (cover): © CRCA Albania

Tirana / Albania

THE ASSESSMENT TEAM

The Team was comprised of the following experts:

CRCA ALBANIA

Mersila Ballo Panorea Koti Lefkothe Noti Dritmira Gremi Edlira Haxhinikolla Elvis Gjata Klea Bojko Majlinda Shabani

OBSERVATORY

Rezana Shehu Shkelqim Muça Migena Vallja Verdi Shehu Ervis Azizi

YWCA

Eva Bajaj Majlinda Xhamo Lirika Golemi Edmira Xhaferra Vjollca Krymi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5

CONTENTS

List of Acronyms 8

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 9

Chapter 2: METHODOLOGY 11

Chapter 3: RESULTS OF THE ASSESSMENT 14

Section 3.1: Crèches 14 Section 3.2: Kindergartens 17 Section 3.3: Schools 24 Section 3.4: Health Services 31

Chapter 4: FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 35

Section 4.1: Findings and Conclusions 35

BIBLIOGRAPHY: 39

LIST OF ACRONYMS

CRCA Children’s Human Rights Centre of Albania

CSO Civil Society Organisation

CPU Child Protection Unit

DAR Regional Education Directorate

ECD Early Childhood development

ECE Early Childhood education

ECDE Early Childhood development and education

INSTAT National Institute of Statistics

LGU Local Government Unit

MES Ministry of Education and Sports

MSWY Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth

OBS Observatory for Children’s Rights

OSFA Open Society Foundation in Albania

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

VKM Decision of the Council of the Ministers

VKB Decision of the Municipality City Council

YWCA Young Women Christian Organisation

TABLES

Table 3.1.1 Number of Crèches attended by Roma children Table 3.1.2 Crèches attendance by Roma Children in Albania Table 3.1.3 Roma children versus non-Roma children in crèches Table 3.1.4 Distance of Crèches from Roma settlements Table 3.1.5 Health situation of Roma children attending crèches

Table 3.2.1 Number of Kindergartens attended by Roma children in Regions and Municipalities Table 3.2.2 Roma children attending kindergartens per region AND district (Per region and district) Table 3.2.3 Kindergartens’ attendance status by sex, type of kindergarten, and grade Table 3.2.4 Kindergartens’ attendance status based on meal provision Table 3.2.4 Distance of kindergartens from Roma settlements Table 3.2.5 Health situation of Roma children in kindergartens Table 3.2.6 Attitudes of non-Roma parents towards Roma children

Table 3.3.1 Number of Schools IN REGIONS attended by Roma children Table 3.3.2 School attendance of Roma children per class and gender Table 3.3.3 National School attendance per class and gender versus Roma children

GRAPHICS

Graph 1: Health situation of Roma children in crèches in Albania (in %) Graph 2: Number of Roma children attending kindergartens per district, academic year 2016-2017 Graph 3: Distance of kindergartens from Roma settlements Graph 4: State of health of Roma children by level of kindergarten attended, Academic year 2016-2017 Graph 5: Attitudes of non-Roma parents towards Roma children (Academic year 2016-2017) Graph 6: Number Roma pupils attending school (Academic year 2016-2017) Graph 7: Roma girls’ education versus boys per class attended (Academic year 2016-2017) Graph 8: Roma girls’ education versus non-Roma girls per class attended (Academic year 2016-2017)

FIGURES

Figure 1: Kindergartens with a meal provisions in Albania Figure 2: Distribution of the number Roma pupils attending school in Albania

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CRCA Albania would like to acknowledge the support of UNICEF, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) for funding the initiative “Every Roma Child in Kindergarten”, a national initiative that aims to enrol Roma children in early childhood education and consequently basic education.

This is final assessment report that the initiative is preparing on the access of Roma children in early childhood public services and the issues they have face when they become in contact with them. The preparation of this Assessment Report it’s a serious attempt to gather information on Roma children in relation to their education and health from the collected data of the public services across Albania.

The report contains data and information on early childhood education and early childhood services (crèches and kindergartens and basic education). It looks to identify issues of concern in each aspect of the early childhood services that need to be addressed at the policy level by the Albanian Parliament, Government, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Municipalities across Albania.

We would like to acknowledge the efforts that the authors, interviewers and all the participants of the assessment had to undertake to make this assessment possible. Special thanks go to Altin Hazizaj, Pranvera Elezi, S. Thornton Barkley and Mersila Ballo that co-authored this assessment report, which provides us with a good updated knowledge on the issues and concerns that we need to take into consideration when working for Roma children.

We would like also to acknowledge the contribution of the staff and experts of education and health authorities, CRCA, OBSERVATORY and YWCA teams respectively for making it possible the collection of available data.

We hope that this report serves also to the CSO’s across Albania and beyond, working for Roma children, in terms of detailed volume of data and information and the needs that Roma children have for early childhood services.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The final Assessment Report “Access of Roma Children to Early Childhood Services in Albania”, aimed to be used as a tool to monitor the situation of Roma children across the country by assessing the information already available and collected by the public institutions responsible for the provisions of early childhood education, basic education and health across Albania.

The assessment took place within the framework of the Programme “Every Roma Child in Kindergarten1”, a joint action of UNICEF Albania in cooperation with CRCA Albania, YWCA and OCR, funded respectively by Swiss Cooperation and Austrian Office for Cooperation and Development.

Data collection for the d Report Assessment followed a well-established path of work from two previous reports that were conducted in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Municipalities and health care centres across Albania, by a well-trained team of professional staff and volunteers from the three organisations that implement the initiative.

The data collection started with a training of all the coordinators on September 2016, while the process of the data collection was finalised by late January 2017. The Researchers after validated the questionnaires started by March to work for data analysis and writing of the report. For this specific task, the researchers used the same questionnaire, the same one used for data collection in previous assessments.

The data collected from the educational authorities corresponds with the educational year 2016-2017 (which usually starts by 15 September and ends by 1st June of the next year). Meanwhile for this Assessment we didn’t not collect data from the primary health care centres because this would had required to wait the end of the year 2017 before starting the data collection.

The data collection was set as joint-work of the institutional partners in every municipality and commune across Albania. At least twelve team leaders and six facilitators conducted interviews and mapping of the situation of Roma children. The Protocol used for the assessment was the same as the ones used during the previous years (2015 / 2016). In total, more than 300 public institutions and staff of the Educational and Health authorities in 12 Regions were part of this extensive exercise of mapping Roma children access to early childhood services in Albania.

The Assessment collected data respectively for 38 Roma children attending crèches, 729 children in kindergartens and 2818 children attending compulsory education. It must be stated that these numbers do not represent the overall number of Roma children living in Albania. The data included in our research represents only numbers of children that are recorded by the above-mentioned authorities that were accessed by our interviewers and staff.

The Assessment used quantitative methods to gather data on areas of early childhood education and compulsory education in areas where Roma children and families live or reside across Albania.

1 The action is translated in Romani Language as “Sarkon Romale Maksemenge to Kopshti”.

MAJOR FINDINGS

FOR CRECHES

Only a very small fraction of Roma children attends crèches. Although Roma Census 2014 identified 112 Roma settlements, our assessment shows that only a small fraction (3) of municipalities report children registered in crèches. In total of 38 children attend crèches. This means that only 1 in 30 Roma children attend crèches. Tirana and Lezha have a higher attendance of crèches with a lower number in Saranda, while the rest of the districts seem to have no Roma children attending crèches.

Almost 50% of Roma children (equally boys and girls) in crèches are reported as intermittently sick, which means that 1 in 2 Roma children are often sick.

FOR KINDERGARTENS

There is an ever-larger number of Roma children attending kindergartens compared to the previous years. In total, there is an increase of 15% in the number of Roma children attending kindergartens compared with the academic year 2014-15. The highest increase is seen among boys, although there are no major differences with Roma girls. When it comes to districts the increase is significant for Elbasan and Tirana.

63% of Roma children attend a kindergarten without a meal provision, while only 37% of them attend a kindergarten where they receive at least a meal. Previous research into Roma children attendance of kindergartens and schools have shown that the meal plays an immense contribution to the increase of the attendance of kindergartens and schools.

It is concerning to see that there is sizable percentage of children being reported as intermittently sick. The highest number of Roma children are among the ones that attend 2nd and 3rd level that correspondents with the age of 4-5 years old.

FOR SCHOOLS

The trend of an ever-growing number of Roma children attending compulsory education continues for this academic year with the capital measuring an immense increase of almost 300 more children attending schools. Some other major cities like Fier, Durres and Korça counting for a lower number of children going to schools despite the substantial number of Roma populations in these regions.

The Assessment shows that that basic education is attended by 55% Roma boys and 45% Roma girls, exactly at the same rate as previous assessments. There have been no major changes in the attendance of Roma girls and their school attendance, which remains lower than the boys. It seems to us that sex and gender of the child play a crucial factor in school registration and attendance, probably because of girls’ safety and security concerns.

At national level, less than 1% of pupils in Albanian schools belong to the Roma community, with the 1st year of the academic year counting for the largest number of Roma children (1.6%) in pre-university education, while the 9th grade counts for the lowest attendance (0.2%). Although there is a raise in the numbers of Roma children attending schools across Albania, yet the attendance ratio and dropouts show totally different patterns based on the set of factors that influence them.

LIST OF ACRONYMS

CRCA Children’s Human Rights Centre of Albania

CSO Civil Society Organisation

DAR Regional Education Directorate

INSTAT National Institute of Statistics

MES Ministry of Education and Sports

MSWY Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth

OBS Observatory for Children’s Rights

OSFA Open Society Foundation in Albania

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

VKM Decision of the Council of the Ministers

YWCA Young Women Christian Organisation

CHAPTER 1: Introduction

The Report “Access of Roma Children to Early Childhood Services” is a continuation of the process that started in May 2014 with the 1st Report with the same name. As part of the process of monitoring the workings of the public institutions to integrate Roma children into early childhood education and other services, the initiative “Every Roma Child in Kindergarten” collected data from Municipalities and education authorities in 12 regions of Albania.

During the 1st Report the assessment captured data on approximately on 5,100 children or 75.2% of the Roma children population recorded by Roma Census 2014, or respectively for 46 children in crèches; 665 children in kindergartens; 2625 children in basic education; and 2475 children in health centres – that corresponds with the educational year 2014-2015. Among the major findings of the 1st report were as following:

- Compared to previous years in 2014 the number of Roma children attending crèches has almost doubled. Yet the number of children attending crèches is extremely low. Despite the fact that there is an overall lack of data on how many crèches are functioning across Albania, such low attendance tells us that Roma parents have least opportunities and information on how to register their children in crèches.

- From 2011 to 2014 the numbers of Roma children attending kindergartens increased by 2/3 or otherwise 282 more children are attending kindergartens across Albania. Data from the Roma households in 2011 showed that there were 383 2 Roma children attending kindergarten, while in 2014 there were 665 children.

- At national level, only 1.3% of Roma children had access to a meal while attending kindergartens when compared with non-Roma children. The meal provision is a strong contributing factor to kindergarten attendance from Roma Children.

- Only 61.4% of Roma children are attending compulsory education or 1 in 4 Roma children is not at school. Although we didn’t have all household data on Roma children per-age group related to their attendance of basic education the assessment could confirm that there are at least 2311 Roma children aged 6 up to 15 years old, attending all levels of basic education in Albania.

- A higher percentage of boys attend basic education compared to girls. Although there are similar rates between Roma boys and girls who enrol on the 1st grade, respectively 48% versus 41%, the difference in school attendance between boys and girls who graduate basic education is almost 22% in favour of the boys.

- Almost 11% of Roma children had not received any vaccines at all. At least 62% of Roma children have received all the required vaccines while 10.5% of children have been partially

2 Gedeshi I., Jorgoni E., “Mapping Roma Children in Albania”, page 39, UNICEF and CESS, Tirana 2011.

vaccinated. Boys receive better vaccination compared to Roma girls. Almost 64% of Roma boys have received all the vaccines that are required compared to 60% of the Roma girls.

This Assessment was implemented nationally in 12 regions of Albania. The process despite the usual reported difficulties it should be said that was eased by the fact that the public institutions had already carried out this exercise before. Information on many occasions was available and in few occasions, there was difficulties to access it. Public education authorities continued to collect information on Roma children kindergartens and school attendance. Kindergartens because of the well-established partnership were always accessible and available for information and cooperation.

Four separate questionnaires were distributed and filled with relevant representatives of crèches, kindergartens, schools and health centres. Data collection for this Report commenced by October 2016 and was finalised by late January 2017. The data collected from the educational authorities corresponds with the educational year 2016-2017 (which was still continuing at the time this report was written). In total 362 public institutions and staff of the Educational and Municipalities in 12 regions were approached by the interviewers and provided information for the assessment.

Meanwhile, from the interviews and visits in the premises of all the authorities we could receive information and data for the following number of children:

- 38 Roma children registered in crèches; - 729 Roma children registered in kindergartens; - 2818 children attending compulsory education;

It must be stated that this numbers do not represent the overall number of Roma children living in Albania. The data included in our research represents only numbers of children that the authorities across Albania have recorded data for and that were accessed by our interviewers and staff.

CHAPTER 2: Methodology of the assessment

2.1 ORGANIZATION OF ASSESSMENT IN ALBANIA

The preparation phase for the assessment consisted of five core actions: a) setting up of local contacts and presentation of the assessment at the regional workshops with public institutions; b) finalise agreements, permissions or MoU’s for the implementation of the assessment in cooperation with the public institutions; c) development of the Protocol and four questionnaires, and d) training for coordinators by the lead organization.

During the second phase of the initiative (October 2016-January 2017) 12 regional workshops were organized in each Qark by the three implementing organizations. Apart from the presentation of the initiative and the overall objectives of the project, the workshops were used as a platform to introduce to the local officials and stakeholders the importance of coordinating efforts and goodwill in the data collection component of the project. The regional workshops introduced the instrument and raised questions and issues on the importance of updating the information given for two previous Assessment Reports.

The leading organization in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Municipalities and Communes guaranteed the access of our interviewers in Crèches, Kindergartens. Schools and Health Centre’s across the country. In addition, the local coordinators obtained permission and approval at local level to conduct the assessment with the local officials. The same protocol for interviews as the 1st Report Assessment (of 2015) was used.

The local coordinators were key persons to the distribution and collection of questionnaires across the country. Frequently in contact with the responsible government departments at central and local level, they have been facilitators for uncoordinated service providers. All team leaders and facilitators selected for the process in 12 regions were trained. It must be stressed that local stakeholders and service providers validated the process by co-participating in the assessment.

From May to July more than 400 questionnaires were distributed across the country to Crèches, Kindergartens, Primary schools, Regional Education Directorates, and Municipal departments (Social Care / Child Protection sections) in rural and urban areas. From these 362 questionnaires were validated for use in the assessment. As we know from our previous assessment almost 80% of Roma families live in urban areas, thus the majority of the data was collected accessing information and databases of the public authorities in urban and peri-urban areas. 2.2 TIME-FRAME OF THE ASSESSMENT

A strict timeline was prepared and followed by the teams of the Assessment. The research team initiated work in March with the preparatory phase of the instrument and implemented the collection of data in late May, while continuing to work on the collection of information and cases throughout June and July.

The assessment team was comprised of 19 people (5 of YWCA, 7 of OBSERVATORY, 7 of CRCA). During all the phases of the Assessment, from data collection to data entry the team had the assistance of two senior researchers. The team worked together throughout the period 25 May- 25 July upon the finalization of this report.

Every coordinator distributed paper and electronic versions of the questionnaires that every institution had to fill. The majority of the institutions refused to fill in the electronic versions, which forced all regions to print and hand out questionnaires for every institution. Institutions were left a one week period to return the filled questionnaire. Detailed records, according to the protocol, were kept of all the region, municipality, commune, institution, responsible persons filling in the form, date of delivery, date of return and challenges encountered.

All the necessary formal procedures were followed to collect information regarding the access of Roma children in the educational and health system. In the majority of cases the team had to interview the responsible local authorities in a face-to-face fill in of the questionnaire. This was due to a multiple of conditions and difficulties. It is important to state that due to the end of the academic year, the time at the disposal and the availability of the responsible service providers collecting information in a paper based form accelerated the process of data collection.

In the first phase of the project October-January the team of Local Coordinators of each Region drafted a list of institutions and organizations that played a key role in the Roma community and Roma children’s integration in kindergartens. The list was prepared upon face-to-face meetings with heads of

communes/municipalities/DAR/regional social services/Roma families/health regional services and local ones. A database of local partners (institutional and NGOs) working on Roma inclusion was drafted. In the second phase, regional workshops in each of the 12 Regions of Albania were organized in order to present the initiative and explain the goals and objectives of the Assessment. The initiative was introduced to every interested party (Crèches, Kindergartens, Schools or Health Centres).

The Assessment approached every public institution identified by the Regions’ teams. The institutions were based and serving to 108 Roma communities / settlements across Albania. The teams used the same Roma settlements as the ones identified by Roma Mapping 2011, since it was the only one at the time providing the most appropriate information on Roma in Albania. The new settlements found during the implementation and field visits were also included in the Assessment. The table below provides information on institutions and their location across Albania.

Roma Assessment 2016: Institutions Name of institution Location (Qarks) Organization No. Crèches Tiranë (municipalities 5-11), Korca, Elbasan, CRCA Albania Gjirokastra. Kindergartens Tiranë (municipalities 5-11), Korca, Elbasan, CRCA Albania Gjirokastra. Schools Tiranë (municipalities 5-11), Korca, Elbasan, CRCA Albania Gjirokastra. Health Centres Tiranë (municipalities 5-11), Korca, Elbasan, CRCA Albania Gjirokastra. Economic Aid Centre Tiranë CRCA Albania

Regional Education Directorate Tiranë (municipalities 5-11), Korca, Elbasan, CRCA Albania Gjirokastra. Crèches Tiranë (municipalities 1-4, suburb), Fier, Kukës, OBSERVATORY Vlorë, Dibër. Kindergartens Tiranë (municipalities 1-4, suburb), Fier, Kukës, OBSERVATORY Vlorë, Dibër. Schools Tiranë (municipalities 1-4, suburb), Fier, Kukës, OBSERVATORY Vlorë, Dibër. Health Centres Tiranë (municipalities 1-4, suburb), Fier, Kukës, OBSERVATORY Vlorë, Dibër. Economic Aid Centre Tiranë (municipalities 1-4, suburb), Fier, Kukës, OBSERVATORY Vlorë, Dibër. Regional Education Directorate Tiranë (municipalities 1-4, suburb), Fier, Kukës, OBSERVATORY Vlorë, Dibër. Crèches Durres, Berat, Shkodër, Lezhë YWCA

Kindergartens Durres, Berat, Shkodër, Lezhë YWCA

Schools Durres, Berat, Shkodër, Lezhë YWCA

Health Centres Durres, Berat, Shkodër, Lezhë YWCA

Economic Aid Centre Durres, Berat, Shkodër, Lezhë YWCA

Regional Education Directorate Durres, Berat, Shkodër, Lezhë YWCA

2.3 PREPARATION OF THE INSTRUMENTS OF THE ASSESSMENT

The Assessment was conducted in collaboration with main social partners, local and national NGO, Roma NGO’s and the relevant service providers took place during 2016. The aim of the Assessment was to analyse the access rate of Roma children in the early childhood educational (crèches, kindergarten and primary). Data were collected using three (3) questionnaires printed, respectively one questionnaire for each institution: Crèches, Kindergartens and Schools.

The preparation of the instruments of the assessment initiated with the selection of the research tools by the statistician and more specifically the questionnaires of the 2011 Roma Mapping were modified and adapted for use into 3 questionnaires, each containing two sheets with questions. The first sheet based on the unified Protocol, present in every questionnaire, contained information regarding the service provider and coordinator (Questionnaire number, Region, name of the Coordinator, Service provider, phone number and date of delivery).

The questionnaires consisted of 25 questions and provided quantity information on location, information on access to services (crèches, kindergartens, schools) and their distance from the community. Filling one questionnaire took on average approximately 40 minutes.

In consultation with the research senior Team leaders, word versions of the questionnaires were printed for every region in order to make it easier for service providers to give the relevant data. Each local coordinator had to deliver to the project managers a coded extraction form as agreed. Every detail of the process and data collection was explained in detail in the “Work Protocol for the completion of questionnaires”.

A list of all the identified service providers part of the assessment was shared with the lead organization of the research. This facilitated the coding process because by knowing the exact number of local service providers and institutions involved in the data collection, an accurate timeframe was left for every institution. A weekly update provided information to the lead researchers in order to adjust probable difficulties encountered during the filling of the questionnaire. All the quantitative data were entered in the SPSS programme, were checked and then processed.

2.4 ASSESSMENT TEAM AND TRAINING

For the purposes of the data collection a team of regional team leaders and facilitators was formed for the purpose of the research. The lead organization responsible for the implementation of this component trained the regional team leaders and facilitators on all the components of the Assessment. Overall, at least 15 professionals (5 for each organisation) were coordinated and supervised by a team of two senior researchers in collaboration with the lead organization (CRCA Albania). The composition of assessment teams coincides with the regional coordinators engaged in the “Every Roma in Kindergarten” project.

The first initial training aimed at familiarizing the coordinators with the process to be followed for data collection as well as with the instruments. The trainings were primarily focused on the instrument and Protocol for the filling of the Questionnaires. Questionnaires were analysed in detail in hard and soft copy, focusing on possible challenges and questions that would cause a standstill on the implementation. Furthermore, two additional trainings for the local coordinators of different regions were conducted in following weeks. All forms were discussed in detail through a process of reviewing every individual variable. Apart from familiarizing the coordinators with the questionnaires, difficulties and issues were raised during these trainings.

2.5 ETHICAL ASPECTS

In order to assure that the assessment was conducted in an ethically sound manner, throughout the data collection phase special attention was paid to ensuring that the process was ethical and that participants could openly express their opinions and have the confidentiality of their answers ensured and protected.

The interviewers were trained to be sensitive to manners and customs, were unbiased and acted with integrity and honesty in their relationships with all stakeholders, ensuring that their contacts with individuals were characterized by respect and protection of the anonymity and confidentiality of individual information.

It should be noted that, children were not be directly interviewed during this assessment.

CHAPTER 3 Results of the Assessment

3.1 CRECHES AND ROMA CHILDREN IN ALBANIA

TABLE 3.1.1 NUMBER OF CRÈCHES ATTENDED BY ROMA CHILDREN

Academic year 2016-2017 District Creches Number of Roma children

Total 8 38 Lezhë 1 17 Sarandë 1 2 Tiranë 6 19

Table 3.1.1 shows that only a small fraction of Roma children attend crèches. Although Roma Census 2014 identified 112 Roma settlements, our assessment shows that only a small fraction (3) of municipalities report children registered in crèches. In total of 38 children attend crèches. This means that only 1 in 50 Roma children attend crèches. Tirana and Lezha have a higher attendance of crèches with a lower number in Saranda, while the rest of the districts seem to have no Roma children attending crèches.

Lack of employment among Roma communities and especially of Roma mothers could be the major contributing factor for such a low attendance of crèches. One of the negative aspects of having so many children out of crèches is that it raises considerably the chance for being used in begging or trafficking of children, while the system it doesn’t give an opportunity to the children to receive from early age care and education.

TABLE 3.1.2 CRÈCHES ATTENDANCE BY ROMA CHILDREN IN ALBANIA

Academic year 2016-2017

Total Boys Girls Total 38 17 21 Attend regularly 29 10 19 Does not attend regularly 9 7 2

Unknown

The assessment considered gender differences in crèches attendance across Albania. As it can be observed there are no major differences among boys and girls in attending crèches. Most of the children are reported by the institutions to regularly attend the crèches.

TABLE 3.1.3 ROMA CHILDREN VERSUS NON-ROMA CHILDREN IN CRECHES

Academic year 2016-2017 Number of Roma children per each Total number of children per each creche creche Çerdhja nr 1 (Lezhë) 17 17

Cerdhe Cicerimat (Sarandë) 2 24 Çerdhja nr 57 3

Çerdhja nr 58 1 24

Çerdhja nr. 1 5 15

Çerdhja nr. 13 1 20

Çerdhja nr. 17 1 23

Çerdhja nr. 4 8 27

Table 3.1.3 shows that in all of the 8 crèches that are attended by Roma children we see major variations in the numbers of the attendees with non-Roma children. One example is a crèche in Lezha that is visited only by Roma children, which would show a segregation of children from early childhood. The data confirms that crèches are in their majority attended by non-Roma children. Although it is very difficult to analyse the factors we can assume that the social exclusion of Roma families is one of the major contributing factors.

TABLE 3.1.4 DISTANCE OF CRÈCHES FROM ROMA SETTLEMENTS3

Academic year 2016-2017 30 Distance Total Boys Girls 20 0,5 km 6 3 3 10 1 km 27 12 15 0 1,5 km 0 0 0 0,5 km 1 km 1,5 km 2 km + Unknown 2 km + 2 1 1 Total Boys Girls Unknown 3 1 2

Distance of public services from an inhabited area could be one of the reasons to limit the access or attendance to that service. Although staff of crèches lacks data on the distance that Roma children need to commute daily, from the data we can see that most Roma children and their families live in the proximity of crèches and the distance is not one of the contributing factors for the lack of attendance of Roma children.

TABLE 3.1.5 HEALTH SITUATION OF ROMA CHILDREN ATTENDING CRÈCHES

Academic year 2016-2017 Total Boys Girls No. No. % No. % Total 38 17 44,7 21 55,3 Healthy 15 5 33,3 10 66,7 Intermittently Sick 21 11 52,4 10 47,6 Unhealthy 2 1 0,0 1 0,0 Unknown 0 0 0,0 0 0,0

Graph 1: Health situation of Roma children in creches in Albania (in %) 80.0

60.0

40.0

20.0

0.0 Total Healthy Intermittently Sick Unhealthy Unknown

Boys % Girls %

Crèche staff (nurses and educators) were asked from the Assessment team to evaluate the health situation of Roma children that attend crèches in terms of rating from healthy to unhealthy. We can observe from the data of the Table 3.5.1 that almost 50% of Roma children (equally boys and girls) are reported as intermittently sick, which means that 1 in 2 Roma children are often sick.

3 The distance from crèches, kindergartens, schools and health centers is self-declared from the representatives of the institutions and it has not been measured from our research team.

3.2 ROMA CHILDREN IN KINDERGARTENS

INSTAT reported that (educational year 2015-2016) there were 82,623 children attending public and private kindergartens in Albania. Out of that 43,640 children were living in urban areas (53%) and 38,983 (47%) in rural ones. Taking into consideration that data on population from Census 2011 showed that slightly over 50% of population is living in the urban areas it becomes clear the pressure that families have in urban areas to register their children in kindergartens where only 18% of all kindergartens are present in urban areas.

Table 3.2.1 shows there the assessment was able to access data and information on Roma children attending 69 kindergartens across Albania. The table provides information in which Region and Municipality of Albania we have the highest concentration of Roma children and what is the ratio of distribution among urban and rural areas. Such data it is important especially at policy level, because it can build knowledge on segregation (if any) or Roma children from the non-Roma ones, while assess the level of attendance and participation of Roma children in early childhood education.

TABLE 3.2.1 NUMBER OF KINDERGARTENS ATTENDED BY ROMA CHILDREN IN REGIONS AND MUNICIPALITIES IN ALBANIA

Region District Municipality Number of Number of Roma Kindergartens children per kindergarten

Albania 69 729 Berat Berat Berat 3 42 Dibër Dibër Diber 2 2 Durrës Durrës Durres 2 11 Durrës Durrës KRUJE 2 18 Elbasan Elbasan Cerrik 1 35 Elbasan Elbasan Elbasan 6 103 Elbasan Elbasan Peqin 1 5 Fier Fier Clirim 1 1 Fier Fier Hamil 1 17 Fier Fier Mbrostar-Ura 1 6 Fier Fier Zhupan 1 27 Fier Lushnjë Çermë Sektor 1 1 Fier Lushnjë Dushk 1 1 Fier Lushnjë Grabian 1 9 Fier Lushnjë Gramsh 1 2 Fier Lushnjë Plug 1 3 Gjirokastër Gjirokastër Gjirokastër 2 28 Korçë Devoll Bilisht 1 9 Korçë Korçë Korçë 4 45

Korçë Pogradec Pogradec 1 13 Kukës Kukës Kukes 1 2 Lezhë Lezhë Lezhë 3 29 Lezhë Lezhë Shengjin 1 28 Lezhë Lezhë Shenkoll 1 10 Shkodër Shkodër Shkoder 3 31 Shkodër Shkodër Shkodër 1 15 Tiranë Kavajë Kavaje 1 19 Tiranë Rrogozhine Rrogizhine 1 7 Tiranë Tiranë Babrru 1 17 Tiranë Tiranë Minibashkia nr.1 1 4 Tiranë Tiranë Minibashkia nr.4 3 54 Tiranë Tiranë Njësia nr 11 1 1 Tiranë Tiranë Njësia nr. 11 1 28 Tiranë Tiranë Njësia nr. 5 1 20 Tiranë Tiranë Njësia nr. 6 3 18 Tiranë Tiranë Njësia nr. 8 2 10 Tiranë Tiranë Njësia nr. 9 1 7 Tiranë Tiranë Valias 1 6 Tiranë Tiranë Yzberisht 1 6 Vlorë Delvinë Delvine 1 2 Vlorë Sarandë Sarande 2 5 Vlorë Vlorë Vlorë 4 32

As we can see from the Table 3.2.1 the largest urban areas have also the largest concentration of Roma families. Tirana, Elbasan and Fier are some of the cities with sizable Roma populations. The fact that most of the Roma families live in urban areas means that the access of Roma children into kindergartens becomes difficult and altered because of the lack of available places in kindergartens in urban areas.

TABLE 3.2.2 ROMA CHILDREN ATTENDING KINDERGARTENS PER REGION AND DISTRICT

PER REGION

Academic year 2016 - 2017 Total Boys Girls Total 729 386 343 Berat 42 24 18 Dibër 2 2 0 Durrës 29 14 15 Elbasan 143 79 64 Fier 67 31 36 Gjirokastër 28 16 12 Korçë 67 35 32 Kukës 2 1 1 Lezhë 67 41 26 Shkodër 46 24 22 Tiranë 197 103 94 Vlorë 39 16 23

Table 3.2.2 shows that compare to the data collected from the previous years there is a larger number of Roma children attending kindergartens. In total, there are almost 100 more Roma children attending kindergartens in Albania, an increase of 15% compared with the academic year 2014-15. The highest increase is seen among boys, although there are no major differences with Roma girls. When it comes to districts the increase is significant for Elbasan and Tirana.

Academic year 2016 - 2017 Graph 2: Number of Roma children attending District Total Boys Girls Total 729 386 343 kindergartens per district, academic year 2016-2017 Berat 42 24 18 Delvinë 2 0 2 Devoll 9 5 4 240 Dibër 2 2 0 Durrës 29 14 15 200 Elbasan 143 79 64 Fier 51 24 27 160 Gjirokastër 28 16 12 Kavajë 19 11 8 120 Korçë 45 24 21 Kukës 2 1 1 80 Lezhë 67 41 26 40 Lushnjë 16 7 9 Pogradec 13 6 7 0

Rrogozhine 7 6 1

Fier

Total

Vlorë

Berat

Dibër

Korçë

Lezhë

Kukës

Devoll

Tiranë Kavajë

Sarandë 5 2 3 Durrës

Delvinë

Elbasan

Lushnjë

Sarandë Shkodër

Shkodër 46 24 22 Pogradec

Gjirokastër Rrogozhine Tiranë 171 86 85 Vlorë 32 14 18

The table and the graphic provide us with data on the number of children attending kindergartens per district. We can observe from the information available that Elbasan, Lezha and Tirana have the largest number of Roma children in kindergartens, based per the number of population, followed by Fier, Korce and Berat.

TABLE 3.2.3 KINDERGARTENS’ ATTENDANCE STATUS BY SEX, TYPE OF KINDERGARTEN, AND GRADE

Academic year 2016-2017

Regular Not regular Unknown attendance attendance Albania 629 100 0

By sex Boys 332 54 0 Girls 297 46 0 By type of kindergarten With meal provision 238 31 0 Without meal provision 391 69 0 Missing information 0 0 0 By level of kindergarten attended 1st Level 205 29 0 2nd Level 173 32 0 3rd Level 215 38 0 Mixed or Pre-school programme 36 1 0

Table 3.2.3 provides data collected from kindergartens across Albania on attendance, meal provisions and level of kindergarten attended by both boys and girls. When it comes to regular versus non-regular attendance we can observe that both, boys and girls don’t attend the kindergartens at similar rates. However, it should be stated that when we compare with total number of Roma children attending kindergartens seems that girls attend less regularly the kindergartens compared to the boys.

TABLE 3.2.4 KINDERGARTENS’ ATTENDANCE STATUS BASED ON MEAL AND NON- PROVISIONS

Academic year 2016-2017 Type of kindergartens Total With meal provisions Without meal provisions Total 729 269 460 Berat 42 0 42 Dibër 2 1 1 Durrës 29 12 17 Elbasan 143 6 137 Fier 67 0 67 Gjirokastër 28 26 2 Korçë 67 22 45 Kukës 2 2 0 Lezhë 67 57 10 Shkodër 46 35 11 Tiranë 197 108 89 Vlorë 39 0 39

A finding of the assessment continuous to be the considerable factor that the meal provision plays to the kindergarten attendance. While only 5% of Roma children who attend kindergarten with a meal provision do not attend regularly, the percentage jumps to almost 11% for non-regular attendance of children registered in kindergartens without a meal provision.

More than 63% of Roma children attend a kindergarten without a meal provision, while only 37% of Roma children attend a kindergarten with a meal provision, where they receive at least one meal per day. Previous research into Roma children attendance of kindergartens and schools have shown that the meal plays an immense contribution to the increase of the attendance of classes. There are no local policies that can guarantee a free meal for Roma or other children, who live in deprived areas, shanty towns and poor families.

Our data shows that the capital Tirana is a major contributor to the access of children in kindergartens with a meal compared to Fier and Berat for example, who have no Roma children attending kindergartens with a meal provision. Not having such policies, in our opinion it prevents children to benefit from the positive measures that encourage early childhood development.

TABLE 3.2.5 DISTANCE OF KINDERGARTENS FROM ROMA SETTLEMENTS

Academic year 2016-2017 Graph 3: Distance of kindergartens from Roma Total Boys Girls 450 settlements Total 729 386 343 400 350 Less than 1 262 142 120 300 Boys Girls km 250 1 km+K7 212 110 102 200 1.5 km 37 22 15 150 100 2 km + 69 33 36 50 0 Missing 149 79 70 Total Less than 1 1 km+K7 1.5 km 2 km + Missing information km information

As we can see from table 3.2.4 most of the Roma children and families live in proximity of the kindergarten. Almost 65% of Roma children within the distance of 1 km from kindergartens. Almost 10% of children live 2 or more kilometres far from kindergartens, which would require at least 30 minutes of walk for every child to access early childhood education. The 2km mark is very important because first of all it shows that distance is not a major contributing factor in kindergartens attendance; secondly, because it represent a policy implication issue for central and local government, which has issued an order (Council of Ministers Decision) to support free of charge transport for children who live further than 2 km from the nearest educational institution.

TABLE 3.2.6 HEALTH SITUATION OF ROMA CHILDREN IN KINDERGARTENS

Academic year 2016-2017 Total Healthy Intermittently Sick Unknown sick Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Total 386 343 167 151 215 191 4 1 0 0 Berat 24 18 12 8 12 10 0 0 0 0 Dibër 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 Durrës 14 15 0 0 14 15 0 0 0 0 Elbasan 79 64 62 45 17 19 0 0 0 0 Fier 31 36 11 15 19 21 1 0 0 0 Gjirokastër 16 12 2 0 14 12 0 0 0 0 Korçë 35 32 30 28 5 4 0 0 0 0 Kukës 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Lezhë 41 26 2 1 39 24 0 1 0 0 Shkodër 24 22 7 7 17 15 0 0 0 0 Tiranë 103 94 28 25 73 69 2 0 0 0 Vlorë 16 23 13 21 2 2 1 0 0 0

Health is an important factor for children not to attend kindergartens or not being accepted by the education authorities in the kindergartens based on health grounds. It could also give us a general overview to what areas of the country children are more affected and what could be the factors that influence their health situation.

Graph 4: State of health of Roma children by level of kindergarten attended, Academic year 2016-2017

Sick

Intermittently sick

Healthy

Total

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Mixed or Pre-school programme 3rd Level 2nd Level 1st Level

Table 3.2.5 shows the situation of health of the children attending kindergartens based on the level that the children follow. Analysing the data by the level of kindergarten it is important because it can provide us further knowledge on what age groups among children are the most exposed to having health issues and if possible what are the reasons that influence it. As we can observe a large number of children are reported, by the kindergartens staff, to be in good health. However, it is concerning to see that there is sizable percentage of children being reported as intermittently sick. The highest number of Roma children are among the ones that attend 2nd and 3rd level that correspondents with the age of 4-5 years old. During the 1st Assessment we found that the older children got the less sick they seem to be reported. Meanwhile in the 3rd Assessment we seem to have a reversed situation. This corresponds with the same group of children that we measured the results of the assessment in 2015, who now are 2 years older and seems that their health situation hasn’t improved during this time. A positive aspect of the data is that a dwindling number of children are reported as often sick, which is an improvement from the previous report.

One major concerning feature coming from of the data is that Roma children in Berat, Elbasan, Gjirokastër, Shkodër and Lezha, are reported to be intermittently sick at a very high rate compared to the overall number of Roma children living in these regions that are also among the most populous in Albania. For example, Roma children in Gjirokastra are in all our reports as being at times sick and that tends continues to be repeated every year. When we consider the overall data of the Roma populations living in this region, it is characteristic of the four areas that Roma people are not housed in flats or well build houses, but rather in tents or improvised housing. Poor living conditions are a major contributing factor in the poor health situation of Roma children affecting their wellbeing during their childhood.

TABLE 3.2.7 ATTITUDES OF NON-ROMA PARENTS TOWARDS ROMA CHILDREN

Total Yes, it Yes, often Never No answer happened once

Albania 729 53 35 537 104 By sex Boys 386 33 19 272 62 Girls 343 20 16 265 42 By type of kindergarten With meal provision 269 24 22 172 51 Without meal provision 460 29 13 365 53

Missing information By level of kindergarten attended 1st Level 234 6 11 186 31 2nd Level 205 14 15 145 31 3rd Level 253 16 9 186 42 Mixed or Pre-school programme 37 17 0 20 0

Graph 5: Attitudes of non-Roma parents towards Roma children Academic year 2016-2017

7% 14% 5% Yes, it happened once Yes, often Never No answer

74%

One of the areas that the assessment considered the role that negative or discriminatory attitudes of non-Roma parents play towards the access of Roma children to kindergartens. First hand evidence from interviews with teachers and educators suggests that negative and discriminatory attitudes often contribute to Roma parents pulling their children out of early childhood education, which is not mandatory.

The assessment found that at least 74% of non-Roma parents have not expressed any negative views against Roma children (usually this is verified by the discussions that take place between parents and teachers in kindergartens); while a considerable 14% of parents have often expressed such negative attitudes with another 7% expressing them only once. It is quite worrying to see that 21% of non-Roma parents express such views, which shows a prominent level of prejudice and discriminatory views towards Roma children and their families. Such views shall be taken into consideration especially by Municipalities and Education Authorities, as the data tells us that they are not well-informed on the rights of children and role that positive attitudes have in child upbringing.

3.3 ROMA CHILDREN IN COMPULSORY EDUCATION

Historically the Roma in Albania, as in other European countries, are characterized by a low level of education4. Many studies on Roma children’s access to basic education and their level of attainment show that Roma children and their parents have distinctly lower achievements in education compared to their non-Roma peers. “Many Roma have never been to school that speak of a high level of illiteracy among members of the community. In average Roma attend only 3.32 years of school5…” The 2014 Roma Census concluded that the lesser the level of education of Roma families the less well-off were the families, with 1 in 2 Roma people above 6 years old not being able to read or write. Only 12.2% of Roma people where at school when Census took place6.

Our 1st National Assessment in 2015 found that only 61.4% of Roma children attended compulsory education (between 2014-2015) or 1 in 4 Roma children were not out of school. A higher percentage of boys attended education compared to girls. Although there are similar rates between Roma boys and girls who enrol on the 1st grade, respectively 48% versus 41%, the difference in school attendance between boys and girls who graduate 9th year (final year of compulsory education) is almost 22% in favour of the boys. However, there are some positive developments that we have countered during the analysis of the data for this 3rd Assessment Report.

TABLE 3.3.1 NUMBER OF SCHOOLS IN REGIONS ATTENDED BY ROMA CHILDREN

Academic year 2016- 2017 Region (prefecture) Number of schools Number of Roma children attending school

Total 112 2 818 Berat 10 133 Dibër 3 6 Durrës 5 191 Elbasan 9 219 Fier 12 341 Gjirokastër 3 71 Korçë 5 33 Kukës 2 13 Lezhë 15 46 Shkodër 5 135 Tiranë 34 1 510 Vlorë 9 120

4 Gedeshi I., Jorgoni E., “Mapping Roma Children in Albania”, UNICEF and CESS, Tirana 2011. 5 Nelaj D., Kaciu E., Dundo J., Dervishi D., Factors that impact Roma Integration in Albania, a comparative Assessment. Open Society Foundation in Albania, Tirana 2012. 6 Roma Census 2014, Assessment of Albanian Communities, Open Society Foundation in Albania (Soros), Tirana 2014.

During the academic year 2016-17 the interviewing teams could capture data and information for 112 schools, compared to 114 schools visited during our 2nd Assessment Report. The trend of an ever-growing number of Roma children attending compulsory education continues for this academic year with the capital measuring an immense increase of almost 300 more children attending schools. Some other major cities like Fier, Durres and Korça counting for a lower number of children going to schools despite the substantial number of Roma populations in these regions.

Graph 6: Number Roma pupils attending school (Academic year 2016-2017) 1,510

341 191 219 133 135 71 120 6 33 13 46

TABLE 3.3.2 SCHOOL ATTENDANCE OF ROMA CHILDREN PER CLASS AND GENDER

Total Boys % Girls %

Albania 2 818 1 546 55% 1 272 45%

Preparatory class 61 28 46% 33 54% 1st year 536 290 54% 246 46%

2nd year 343 186 54% 157 46%

3rd year 294 159 54% 135 46%

4th year 294 163 55% 131 45%

5th year 268 147 55% 121 45%

6th year 231 135 58% 96 42%

7th year 150 103 69% 47 31%

8th year 135 77 57% 58 43%

9th year 93 52 56% 41 44%

Missing 413 206 50% 207 50%

Note: Schools “Azem Hajdari” and “Bajram Curri” did not provide the detailed information and data that was required on the number of children as per grade and classroom they attend. As such the information provided in relation to these schools in Tirana was not included in the assessment.

Table 3.3.2 provides detailed information on school attendance from Roma children per class and gender. Basic education in Albania is made of 2 levels, primary (classes from 1-5) and lower secondary education (classes from 6-9). A child to get a certificate of maturity shall have studied and passed all the 9 levels of compulsory education. A child would be accepted to the school when it has completed 6 years old and not older than 77.

7 An academic year in Albania for primary mandatory education would start usually by mid-September to finish by mid-June, depending on the class that the child is attending.

Graph 7: Roma girls’ education versus boys per class attended (Academic year 2016-2017)

9th year

8th year

7th year

6th year

5th year

4th year

3rd year

2nd year

1st year

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Boys Girls

The assessment reconfirms that the number of Roma children attending any level of education in Albania has increased steadily. The Assessment found that there are 2818 Roma children attending compulsory education in Albania. The 3rd Assessment shows that that basic education is attended by 55% boys and 45% Roma girls, exactly at the same rate as the 1st and 2nd Assessment reports.

There have been no major changes in the attendance of Roma girls and their school attendance, which remains lower than the boys. It seems to us that sex and gender of the child play a crucial factor in school registration and attendance, probably because of girls’ safety and security concerns.

Another major concern is the drastic reduction of attendance of compulsory education by Roma children once they complete the 1st class of the primary education. The same concern was recorded on the other Assessment Reports that we carried out and the issue was raised constantly with the authorities and Roma communities across Albania.

Although there is a wide magnitude of issues that affect the compulsory education of Roma children it is our belief that many Roma children lose their interest to attend school because often they are faced with discrimination and exclusion, lack of support from the school and parents, and wide range of activities that make classrooms more enjoyable to attend and learn.

TABLE 3.3.3 NATIONAL SCHOOL ATTENDANCE PER CLASS AND GENDER VERSUS ROMA CHILDREN

Academic year 2016 – 2017 Total number of Number of % of Roma Girl Overall % Roma girls % of children in Roma children as children of girls in attending Roma girls schools children opposed to attending schools schools as attending non-Roma schools opposed schools to non- Roma Total 343 499 2 661 0,8 162 208 47,2 1 198 0,7 1st grade 34 940 551 1,6 16 620 47,6 271 1,6 2nd grade 35 244 331 0,9 16 484 46,8 160 1,0 3rd grade 35 187 295 0,8 16 720 47,5 122 0,7 4th grade 36 764 310 0,8 17 252 46,9 146 0,8 5th grade 37 429 411 1,1 17 751 47,4 186 1,0 6th grade 38 793 293 0,8 18 166 46,8 116 0,6 7th grade 41 184 222 0,5 19 653 47,7 85 0,4 8th grade 38 625 167 0,4 17 929 46,4 74 0,4 9th grade 45 333 81 0,2 21 633 47,7 38 0,2

At national level, less than 1% of pupils in Albanian schools come from the Roma community, with the 1st year of the academic year counting for the largest number of Roma children (1.6%) in pre-university education, while the 9th grade counts for the lowest attendance (0.2%). Although there is a raise in the numbers of Roma children attending schools across Albania, yet the attendance ratio and dropouts show totally different patterns based on the set of factors that influence them. Family traditions, safety and discrimination towards women and girls seem to be the main contributing factors for the girls to dropout of schools at a very fast paste compared to the boys. Non-Roma girls also tend to dropout of compulsory education at high numbers too, yet the rate doesn’t compare with the Roma girls. As the graphic shows the school attendance and dropouts of Roma girls continues to be a progressive free fall with a slight pause during the 5th year of school year.

Graph 8: Roma girls’ education versus non-Roma girls per class attended (Academic year 2016-2017) 48.0 1.8 1.6 47.5 1.4 1.2 47.0 1.0 0.8 46.5 0.6 46.0 0.4 0.2 45.5 0.0 1st year 2nd year 3rd year 4th year 5th year 6th year 7th year 8th year 9th year

Overall % of girls in schools % of Roma girls as opposed to non-Roma

CHAPTER 4: Findings and conclusions

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS OF THE ASSESSMENT

FOR CRECHES

In all of the 8 crèches that are attended by Roma children we see major variations in the numbers of the attendees with non-Roma children. One example is a crèche in Lezha that is visited only by Roma children, which would show a segregation of children from early childhood. The data confirms that crèches are in their majority attended by non-Roma children. Although it is very difficult to analyse the factors we can assume that the social exclusion of Roma families is one of the major contributing factors.

Almost 50% of Roma children (equally boys and girls) in crèches are reported as intermittently sick, which means that 1 in 2 Roma children are often sick.

FOR KINDERGARTENS

There is a larger number of Roma children attending kindergartens compared to previous years. In total, there are almost 100 more Roma children attending kindergartens in Albania, an increase of 15% compared with the academic year 2014-15. The highest increase is seen among boys, although there are no major differences with Roma girls. When it comes to districts the increase is significant for Elbasan and Tirana.

When it comes to regular versus non-regular attendance of kindergartens we can observe that both, boys and girls don’t attend the kindergartens at similar rates. However, it should be stated that when we compare with total number of Roma children attending kindergartens seems that girls attend less regularly the kindergartens compared to the boys.

The meal provision plays to the kindergarten attendance. While only 5% of Roma children who attend kindergarten with a meal provision do not attend regularly, the percentage jumps to almost 11% for non-regular attendance of children registered in kindergartens without a meal provision.

More than 63% of Roma children attend a kindergarten without a meal provision, while only 37% of children attend a kindergarten with meal provision. Previous research into Roma children attendance of kindergartens and schools have shown that the meal plays an immense contribution to the increase of the attendance of classes.

A considerable number of children are reported, by the kindergartens staff, to be in good health. However, it is concerning to see that there is sizable percentage of children being reported as intermittently sick. The highest number of Roma children are among the ones that attend 2nd and 3rd level that correspondents with the age of 4-5 years old.

Discriminatory attitudes of non-Roma parents contribute considerably to conflicts and consequently lack of attendance of kindergartens from Roma children. The assessment found that at least 74% of non-Roma parents have not expressed any negative views against Roma children, while a considerable 14% of parents have often expressed such negative attitudes with another 7% expressing them only once. It is quite worrying to see that 21% of non-Roma parents express such views, which shows a prominent level of prejudice and discriminatory views towards Roma children and their families.

FOR SCHOOLS

The 3rd Assessment shows that that basic education is attended by 55% boys and 45% Roma girls, exactly at the same rate as the 1st and 2nd Assessment. There have been no major changes in the attendance of Roma girls and their school attendance, which remains lower than the boys. It seems to us that sex and gender of the child play a crucial factor in school registration and attendance, probably because of girls’ safety and security concerns.

A major concern is the drastic reduction of attendance of compulsory education by Roma children once they complete the 1st class of the primary education. The same concern was recorded on the other Assessment Reports that we carried out and the issue was raised constantly with the authorities and Roma communities across Albania.

Family traditions, safety and discrimination towards women and girls seem to be the main contributing factors for the girls to dropout of schools at a very fast paste compared to the boys. Non-Roma girls also tend to dropout of compulsory education at high numbers too, yet the rate doesn’t compare with the Roma girls. As the graphic shows the school attendance and dropouts of Roma girls continues to be a progressive free fall with a slight pause during the 5th year of school year.

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