Educational segregation of people with a migrant background appears to be an under-explored issue, exacerbated by the lack of detailed data. According to figures from the Fundamental Rights Agency[1], about half of the EU’s Member States struggle with educational segregation. Further evidence suggests that segregation affects educational outcomes and integration perspectives for children.

Educational segregation falls under the responsibility of both national and local authorities following the corresponding fundamental rights and non-discrimination requirements as laid down in Council Directive 2000/43/EC. In an attempt to contribute to tackling this complex policy issue, the Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees Partnership dedicates one Action to preventing educational segregation by way of supporting local-level actions contributing to desegregation of segregated educational facilities, including measures developing quality early childhood education and care.

The Action consists of two concrete measures: Following the Partnership’s request, an expert reviewed sixteen local integration strategies and has tried to assess the scope of school segregation. Building on this, the Metropolitan Research Institute published methodological guidance paper in May 2018. The Partnership is happy to invite interested cities to try out pilot actions in the field of desegregation. The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, DG REGIO, together with the Joint Research Centre, is in the process of launching dedicated exercises to collect data on segregation in educational facilities at the local level. 

DG REGIO leads on this Action.

More details on this Action can be found in the in the Action Plan. To stay up to date, please consult the Partnership website regularly and follow the Urban Agenda for the EU on Twitter @EUUrbanAgenda.

The Partnership has also produced a short video on this Action:

[1]Fundamental Rights Agency (2017), Together in the EU Promoting the participation of migrants and their descendants. Available at: http://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2017/migrant-participation