In Volgograd schools, children from Gypsy communities receive free textbooks and lunches

In schools of the Volgograd Region, children from low-income Gypsy families receive free school textbooks and breakfasts. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by Valentina Simenenko, Principal of the school No. 46 of the village of Verkhnyaya Elshanka.

On September 3, at the school No. 46 of the village of Verkhnyaya Elshanka, 130 children from the local Gypsy community celebrated the Day of Knowledge. First form pupils came, accompanied by their mothers.

Natalia Mikhai, a grandmother of a first form pupil, said that to prepare the child for the school, their family spent about 3000 roubles. "It is not a big amount," believes the woman. She continues: "And the state helped us. Textbooks were given for free. Children will receive free breakfasts at the school."

This information was also confirmed by Valentina Simenenko. She also spoke about the problems of the Gypsy community children's adaptation to school conditions.

"When children come to the first class, they feel difficulty at first. They usually do not know the Russian language, since they did not attend kindergartens, and at home their parents speak Romani with them. Our teachers do not know the Romani language, and, therefore, at first, Gypsy pupils of senior forms attend the lessons of the first form. They explain to children that they cannot understand," the Principal has stressed.

According to her, in 2007, teachers of the school developed a Gypsy alphabet, and their teaching experience is used by their colleagues from the cities of Tula, Penza, and Saint Petersburg.

"Gypsy children like to go to school, and they want to study. We feed them here. In winter, they come to school to warm up. In fact, the conditions in their houses are not always favourable. Many of them even do not have water at home," Valentina Simenenko said.

According to the teacher, the Gypsy children like to attend classes in physical education, drawing, and reading. "I wonder that they really like mathematics. In general, abstract thinking of the children is well developed" Valentina Simenenko has noted.

The Principal has also emphasized the special parents' love to children in the Gypsy community. "They always accompany their children to the school. They attend parent-teacher conferences. We work closely with the Gypsy community. In general, Gypsies love their children very much," the teacher stated.

However, there are problems, related not only to the initial adaptation of Gypsy children to school. Nina Boldyreva, Ombudsperson for Children's Rights in the Volgograd Region, said that because of early marriages, children of Gypsy communities stop going to school in 7-8 forms.

The Ombudsperson for Children's Rights has also emphasized that from the beginning of her activity in the region (since 2006), she did not received "issues, related to the organization of children's education, to the presence of the Gypsy people in the territory of dwelling settlements, or to the discrimination of their children."