NGO YOUNG ROMA PROVIDED TABLETS AND INTERNET TO STUDENTS

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Thursday, 30 April 2020 09:28

NGO Young Roma, which already works for 15 years on the field of Roma inclusion, regarding the current situation which has brought new requirements in regards of the education of the Roma community, has provided equipment for students which is necessary for learning from home.

Thanks to the support through the programs of the Roma Education Fund and the European Commission, 60 tablets in the value of 5,500 euros were provided for students. The equipment will be distributed to 40 high school students in the final grades and 20 to children in the eighth and ninth grade of elementary school who do not have the right equipment for distance learning.

The tablets were purchased from Telekom Montenegro at their original purchase prices, and we express special gratitude to Telekom Montenegro, which has also provided 60 SIM cards with 30 GB of Internet per month for the next two months.

In addition to the fact that the purpose of the donation was to provide opportunities for students from families who are unable to obtain the necessary equipment to attend online classes, and taking into consideration that the process of digitalization was also inevitable in "regular" living conditions, the purpose of this donation is also the increase of the use of modern technology by students from the Roma population.

According to a research about the availability of computer equipment for Roma students, carried out on 250 students at the beginning of April this year, which was realized by the NGO Young Roma, we have received the following data:

Out of the total number of high school students who are our beneficiaries (115), a total of 88 do not have a laptop or computer at home.

When it comes to primary schools, the survey has covered 130 eighth and ninth grade students, and from those 120 did not possess a laptop or computer at home (92.3%),

The purchase of the tablets for 60 primary and secondary school students is one of the adapted activities within the project "Improvement primary education – first step towards quality secondary education", funded by the Roma Education Fund, as well as the project "Increasing access and participation of Roma students in secondary education and transition to labor market", funded by the European Union through the Roma Education Fund, whereas NGO Young Roma is a national partner organization for Montenegro.

In the mentioned projects 79 teacher-mentors were engaged in the support for a total of 130 students in primary school and 115 students in secondary school during the school year, who provided mentoring to the students as well as assistance in distance learning.

NGO Young Roma will continue with the activities that will support the Roma children, especially in the field of providing technical equipment that will be useful to them even after the current situation is over.