One-fifth of Roma youth graduate from secondary school

Budapest (MTI) – Today 20 percent of Roma youth graduate from secondary school, twice as many as in the first year of operation of the Roma Education Fund (REF) in 2005, the leader of the civil organisation told public television on Saturday.

The proportion of Roma students obtaining a university degree has also doubled to reach 2 percent during the past ten years of the fund’s operation, Judit Szira told channel M1.

There are about 1,000 young Roma participating in programmes facilitated by the foundation, she said.

It supports university and college students by covering their tuition fees and providing them an annual stipend of 800 euros, said Szira.

The REF was created in the framework of the Decade of Roma Inclusion in 2005, according to its website. It was registered as a Swiss Foundation and started operating with its office in Budapest.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters