The Roma Education Fund is pleased to announce that its seven desegregation projects in Bulgaria are now being funded by the EU Structural Funds, under the Operational Programme Human Resources Development (OP HRD) as announced by the Bulgarian Ministry of Education on March 14, 2008.

This is a crucial development which marks the transition of the school desegregation projects from grassroots efforts to state-supported action and opens new prospects for their sustainability.

In 2007 the Ministry of Education included a subprogram in the OP HRD entitled Fostering a Favourable Multicultural Environment for Practical Implementation of Intercultural Education and Upbringing. This subprogram is open for municipalities, schools and NGOs and envisages support for activities to discontinue Romani children's attendance at Roma-only schools and improve the educational environment.


Source: Roma Education Fund