A total of 638 scholarships have been awarded to Roma students enrolled in the first and second grades in the academic year 2020/2021 within the project funded by the European Union “Stay at School: Action for Inclusion of Roma in Primary Education”. The project is implemented by the Foundation Open Society – Macedonia together with its partners the Association Center for Educational Support Dendo Vas and the Foundation for Educational and Cultural Initiatives Step by step.
Eligible for scholarships were Roma students enrolled in the first grade in the school year 2020/2021, whose families are recipients of state benefits, which is related to the income of the families. Following these criteria, scholarships were awarded to a total of 320 students enrolled in the first grade. Scholars come from 58 elementary schools in 31 municipalities.
At the same time, in this school year, 315 scholarships were awarded to Roma students enrolled in the second grade, and three scholarships to female students enrolled in the third grade. Scholars come from 56 primary schools in 28 municipalities 54% are girls and 46% are boys. The scholarship awarded last year for the first grade was renewed to 280 of these scholars. Three of them were transferred to the second grade, so this school year they are attending the third grade and their scholarship has been renewed.
Scholarships will reduce the financial cost to Roma families related to their children’s education. The scholarship refers to a period of one school year and is in the amount of 400 euros per year (in denar counter value). It is intended to cover the costs of children’s education, food, clothing, school supplies and materials, sports and other equipment for extracurricular activities for children. Regular students will be able to keep the scholarship for the current year, and those who successfully move to the next grade will potentially be able to renew the scholarship the next school year.
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About the project “Stay at School: Action for Inclusion of Roma in Primary Education”
The project aims to provide equal access to education for Roma children and to motivate children to attend classes regularly, but also to help schools provide an inclusive learning environment where diversity is respected and where all children feel welcome, and are equally stimulated to succeed. The project is funded by the European Union and will be implemented by October 2022. More information can be found on the website of FOSM and on the Facebook page of the project.
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23 February 2021