Two times more Roma children will go to school in 2015

The illiteracy rate among the Romany people will halve. Towards 2015, the Roma children involved in the preschool and preuniversity education system will total 70% of the children of this race. About 15% of the Roma will attend universities. This is provided in the action plan for supporting the Romany people of Moldova, which was approved by the Government, Info-Prim Neo reports. The plan includes measures that will be taken in such areas as employment (the unemployment rate among the Roma is 29%, as against 12% among the rest of the population), increasing the welfare of the Romany families, health and social security, culture and the mass media, public administration, public order and documentation, and provision of homes. There will be promoted the service of social-community mediators for the Romany people. According to the census taken in 2004, there are over 12,000 Romanies in Moldova, which is 0.4% of Moldova’s population. The data are challenged by leaders of the Roma community. They say there are 150,000 Romany people in Moldova. As some reports show, one third of the houses of the Roma are unsafe, over 80% of the houses do not have drinking water, sewerage system and bathrooms, while 10% are not connected to the power supply. 56% of the Roma in rural areas did not receive portions of farmland in the privatization process.