Due to “racial segregation”, the European Court of Human Rights condemned Hungary in a case

The European Court of Human Rights condemned Hungary in a case related to the educational segregation of the Roma. The court called on the government to come up with a policy that would not allow this practice. 

A Roma student wanted to transfer to a different school

Between 2013 and 2014, the plaintiff of the case, who is of Roma origin, attended a primary school attended exclusively by Roma students, writes MTI. According to the complainant, the curriculum taught at the school was substandard. Less than 10 percent of the students there continued their education. The complainant’s mother applied to the education office to transfer her son to another school that would better accommodate his mild learning difficulties due to hearing loss.

The request was rejected by the Constitutional Court

The mother’s request of switching schools was rejected as the child did not live in the affected school district. According to the plaintiff, the school was only five minutes from his place of residence by public transport. In December 2015, the applicant filed a constitutional complaint, citing his right to non-discriminatory education, but the Hungarian Constitutional Court rejected it. They thought the case did not raise a constitutional issue.

The European Court of Human Rights condemned Hungary

The European Court of Human Rights found that the complainant was “educated in segregated conditions”. Therefore, the state should have been obliged to take steps to eliminate these inequalities and to avoid the perpetuation of discrimination against the Roma. The judgment states that social coexistence free of racial segregation is a fundamental value in democratic societies. To ensure this, integrated education is a key element.