Since 2005 until now, the general status of Roma and Egyptians individuals in school has improved. A growing number of pupils are starting school and moving up to higher secondary and university education levels. Numerous government policy interventions as well as civil society organizations’ involvement through projects and lobbying efforts have contributed to this advancement. However, the number of students enrolling in secondary and tertiary education has decreased during the last four years. The issue of high dropout rates and low school attendance is recognized and addressed in the National Action Plan 2021 – 2025. Financial limitations, social segregation, parents’ ignorance and low educational attainment, and a difficult school climate — which frequently detracts from the appeal of education because of bullying based on ethnicity — all contribute to these problems.

Compared to other citizens of the country, the Roma and, to a lesser extent, the Egyptian populace have significantly lower levels of education. The difference between Roma and non-Roma people in preschool education is 31%. Similarly, 66% of registered Roma children attend obligatory school, resulting in a 31% disparity between Roma and non-Roma individuals. Despite recent practically exponential progress, enrollment and completion rates for Egyptian and Roma youngsters are still below the national average. Preschool and obligatory schooling were attended by 14’379 Roma and Egyptian boys and girls in 2019. Nonetheless, it is still difficult to get 90% of Roma enrolled and completing primary school and 50% of Roma enrolled and completing higher secondary education in the Western Balkans.

Data from the 2020 ECRI study indicates that there are still issues with inclusive education. Up until now, the only steps made to combat bullying and extremism in schools have been broad awareness-raising campaigns against bullying; these have not included modules that address populations who are particularly vulnerable, including Egyptian and Roma youngsters. This is a significant obstacle to intercultural communication and assimilation.

The main target group and final beneficiaries of this proposal are 50 Roma and Egyptian pupils from a list of schools in Tirana identified in the previous phase of the project. Additionally, the project targets the parents of the pupils (50-100) as the primary influencers of their children’s education. Furthermore, the project aims to involve the schools attended by the Roma and Egyptian beneficiaries and local stakeholders who play a significant role in identifying the needs and concerns of the Roma and Egyptian pupils and intervening in a timely and appropriate manner. These stakeholders include school staff, the Ministry of Transport’s office responsible for education, social administrators, and the Ministry of Education and Sport at the decision-making level.

The attendance rate is easily influenced by the social and economic conditions of the family. Roma and Egyptian families residing in the vicinity of the schools targeted in the 1st phase of the project face economic and social constraints that pose significant challenges to supporting their children’s education. Supporting a child’s education incurs financial costs, and Roma and Egyptian parents within the administrative territory of Bajrami Curri or Kol Jokova, to name a few, struggle through informal economic activities at best to provide for their families. Thus, the scholarship scheme and academic support, network, and exposure to role models can greatly influence positive outcomes.

By combining merit, need, and parental involvement in their children’s education, the project seeks to prevent dropout rates and functional illiteracy while also improving the academic performance of Roma and Egyptian pupils enrolled in compulsory education. In collaboration with the Municipality of Tirana, the project is being implemented in Tirana.

By dissecting the overarching goals, we propose the following particular goals to be pursued throughout the implementation stage and the engagement of many pertinent players that make up the education ecosystem.

1. First and foremost, we aim to increase the percentage of Roma and Egyptian children enrolled in compulsory education by avoiding absenteeism and fictive attendance.
2. Second, we anticipate raising the academic performance (grades) of Roma and Egyptian pupils enrolled in compulsory education.
3. Taking into consideration that parents play a significant role in their children’s education, we seek to support the aspirations of both parents and students for educational success by enhancing students’ potential, parents’ support of their children, and the merit, need, and parental inclusion scholarship program.

The project, our methodology, and our logical framework are all in line with the primary goal of the scholarship program that Inclusive Edu-Jobs introduced, which is to improve the academic performance of Roma and Egyptian pupils enrolled in compulsory education by implementing a better scholarship program at the municipal level that is based on a combination of need and merit. Several important tasks are scheduled during implementation in order to accomplish the previously listed goals.

Finding the non-financial causes of dropouts and the elements that influence their involvement and better educational achievements for Roma and Egyptian pupils will be one of the primary and ongoing initiatives. Monitoring the Roma and Egyptian pupil’s attendance at school and raising parental knowledge of the long-term value of education as a strategy for a sustainable economic future; closely collaborate with the school personnel to track students’ growth and performance in conjunction with the MoT; Modify the scholarship requirements, improving the academic standards with regard to academic performance.

Fifty R/E students from Tirana schools are the project’s primary target group. In addition to the children, RVA will reach out to their parents to help spread the word about the potential financial and social advantages that come straight from education, whether it be higher education or professional training. The project intervention is a reaction to the Roma and Egyptian families’ social and economic situation. The majority of the Roma and Egyptian parents at the targeted school are from low-income and socially disadvantaged families. Due to financial limitations, a lack of role models, and a lack of faith in education, Roma and Egyptian parents are more likely to overlook education than to draw attention to economic endeavors in which their kids can participate. The situation is said to be much more difficult for Roma and Egyptian girls, who run the possibility of getting married young and being subject to patriarchal family customs. However, offering financial incentives to Roma and Egyptian families in unstable economic situations, introducing them to positive role models in their communities, and concretely educating them about the educational opportunities for a more promising and sustainable economic future will change the attitude and trust of Roma and Egyptian parents in the educational system and encourage more of their children to follow this path. Finally, successful Roma and Egyptian students have the ability to inspire, encourage, and even alter the mindset of the community, according to the RVA experience.

There are expenses associated with assisting a child’s education. Roma and Egyptian parents that are socially isolated, have little to no educational history, and come from historically difficult economic backgrounds have a greater burden as a result of these expenses. The primary concern is maintaining consistent attendance and reducing school dropouts, which can be caused by a number of variables, the most significant of which are social and economic.

The project proposal’s ultimate goal is to improve the academic performance of Egyptian and Roma students enrolled in compulsory education in order to reduce dropout rates and functional illiteracy. Merit, need, and parental involvement in their children’s education cycle will be strategically combined to achieve this. Our experience has demonstrated that the transfer to later educational stages, such secondary and university levels, is adversely affected in the absence of sufficient support at the elementary education level. The number of Roma and Egyptian pupils moving from compulsory to secondary school has significantly decreased over the last three years. There are several factors that contribute to school dropout rates and irregular attendance, but social and economic conditions are the main culprits..

Additionally, low attendance rates cause learning gaps and functional illiteracy in students, which hinders their ability to advance from one academic year to the next. As a result, Egyptian and Roma students frequently perform poorly, receive low grades, and experience social exclusion in the classroom, which makes parents think about pulling their kids out of school. This keeps people disengaged in a vicious circle. Therefore, by incorporating scholarships, parental involvement and motivation, mentoring, and engagement of all pertinent stakeholders in the educational process, our approach—which is closely aligned with the project’s—seeks to address the key factors that influence attendance rates and academic performance.

We have divided the overarching goal into three distinct goals, which are described below, in order to give it a concrete form.

First and foremost, by reducing dropouts and fake attendance, the strategy seeks to raise the percentage of Roma and Egyptian children enrolled in compulsory education. As was previously said, low attendance frequently results in dropout since Roma and Egyptian students may fail a class or pass it fraudulently, which eventually leads to illiteracy and a feeling of exclusion from the classroom. Merit and need will be combined to provide incentives for high attendance rates. Support from scholarships will allow R/E students to attend on a regular basis while easing the financial strain on parents.

Second, the project aims to raise the academic performance (grades) of Egyptian and Roma students enrolled in compulsory education. Regular attendance is important, but it is insufficient in and of itself. In order to resolve learning gaps, boost motivation to attain higher academic results, and assist the learning process of Roma and Egyptian students, proactive interventions are required. Functional illiteracy is still a serious risk in the absence of proper assistance. As a result, our intervention involves tight cooperation with school personnel along with a mentoring strategy. We will use mentorship to keep a close eye on the performance and attendance rates of the 50 Roma and Egyptian pupils that were selected for the initiative. Since 2016, Roma Versitas Albania has effectively incorporated mentoring as a crucial element of its initiatives, yielding favorable results. Young Roma and Egyptian individuals in secondary and postsecondary education who have undergone mentoring delivery training serve as our mentors for this project.

Thirdly, by boosting their potential and offering a merit-and need-based scholarship program, the organization hopes to inspire Roma and Egyptian students’ aspirations for academic success. This goal is extremely difficult to achieve and calls for coordinated efforts from several parties, constant monitoring, and modifications to legal or policy frameworks in order to produce the intended results. In order to accomplish this goal, we intend to build strong relationships with parents and Roma and Egyptian pupils, incorporating them in the process and providing them with practical exposure to a range of possibilities and information. Additionally, we will expose them to positive role models in Roma and Egyptian whose circumstances were similar to those of the 50 Roma and Egyptian pupils. Parents can support their children’s transition to secondary and postsecondary school, enabling them to become socially and economically independent, by investing in their education and potential.

According to the application, Roma Versitas Albania has accumulated a great deal of experience in assisting with secondary and university education and will keep making contributions in this area. As a result, it will give the 50 Roma and Egyptian pupils these and other educational and professional development opportunities. Additionally, Roma Versitas Albania will work closely with all stakeholders throughout the project’s implementation to gather lessons learned and suggestions for improving the educational approach, scholarship program, and integration of all local services in order to improve the educational outcomes of Roma and Egyptian students who meet specific requirements, taking into account their needs and limitations and evaluating their merit.

The scholarship scheme aims to provide financial support to Roma and Egyptian students, alleviating the financial burden on their parents and boosting attendance rates. The scheme, combined with merit-based supporting activities like mentoring, is expected to significantly improve the performance rates of these pupils. Roma Versitas Albania will actively assist and support the submission of scholarship applications for 50 Roma and Egyptian pupils from targeted schools, conducting interviews with parents to gain insights into their social and economic situations.

The organization will increase awareness of state scholarship programs among Roma and Egyptian families, conducting information sessions and individual assistance meetings to facilitate their understanding of the program. By closely monitoring the implementation of the state scholarship program and identifying areas where it falls short in meeting the needs of Roma and Egyptian students, the organization can better tailor its efforts to address these gaps.

The administrative framework of the municipality scholarship scheme implementation will be strengthened, focusing on identifying inconsistencies or challenges and proposing a consolidated approach that addresses these issues. The municipal scholarship scheme will also be enhanced to address the specific needs of Roma and Egyptian students and improve their educational outcomes. By gaining insights into the diverse needs and circumstances of Roma and Egyptian students, targeted strategies and interventions can be developed to enhance the effectiveness of the scholarship scheme.

In conclusion, the scholarship scheme aims to provide financial support to Roma and Egyptian students, enhance their educational outcomes, and create a supportive environment for their educational success.