Photo: Amalipe Center for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance

Sliven, Southeastern Bulgaria, March 19 (BTA) - COVID-19 brought
 back the problem of early marriage in the Roma communities, Tania
Hristova, an education expert and regional coordinator of the
Amalipe Center for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance, told BTA.
 "Much of our efforts were obliterated in the midst of
COVID-19," she said.

She blames the new surge in early marriages among the Roma on
decreased school attendance as students switched to online
classes.

She mentioned as an example a vocational high school in the
southern town of Pazardzhik, which has had over 25 student get
married since the start of this school year. The same trend is
observed in Sliven, where according to the Sliven Regional
Department of Education, the most children drop out of school
due to moving abroad and early marriage.

For years, Sliven has been among the leaders for teenage
pregnancies and premature births, and the competent institutions
 are jointly searching for a solution to this problem. NGOs,
schools and the Bulgarian Red Cross are organizing discussions
on early marriage, contraception and sexually transmitted
diseases, etc.

"We communicate on a daily basis with schools, education
mediators and teachers," Hristova said. Other problems that the
pandemic brought are the shortage of electronic devices for
online education among Roma students and the lack of skills to
work with them. She said that Amalipe has started a charity
campaign for getting tablets and computers with support from the
 Education Ministry. "The problem is that a large part of
children, as well as their parents, are illiterate and cannot
use the devices. Hristova explained that this is how one of the
programmes she heads was expanded to include over 180 students
from across the country, who teach their peers how to use
tablets and computers. 

According to her, one of the pros of online education is that
students and teachers' technical skills have improved
significantly.

"Social isolation has impacted children severely," said
Hristova, who has also worked as a school psychologist. A large
part of the children closed themselves off during the time of
online classes and when they had to return to school for
in-person classes, it was difficult for them to socialize. A new
 closure of schools will deepen this problems, she said. NV/MY

Source: Sliven, Southeastern Bulgaria