Education Thessaloniki
Second chance school: A hidden gem in Dendropotamos Rebuilding lives through a second chance in education
by Georgia Tentzidou
S econd Chance Schools were planned and
“And I always thought to myself,
funded by the European Union two decades ago, Am I able to attend school at so that member states could offset the consethis age? But I did. For others, quences of student dropout rates and counter enrolling in the Second Chance social exclusion. There are public schools for adults in the field of lifelong learning. They are School is like a personal bet with aimed at citizens aged 18 and over who have themselves, an unsatisfied desire not completed their nine-year compulsory edfrom the past for something ucation. In this way, they give the opportunity they started but unfortunately to those who wish to obtain a title equivalent did not complete” to the lower secondary school certificate, emphasizing the acquisition of basic qualifications ly Romani or non-Romani residents of Dendroand the development of personal skills. potamos. Unfortunately, there are a few factors The Second Chance School, located in Dendro- linked to Romani culture that, most of the time, potamos, has been housed in the 3rd Primary justify their high school dropout rate. Research School of the area, approximately for more than done on the school dropout rate of Roma chilfive years. The majority of students are most- dren in 2016 stated that the main reason given in 80% of cases was poverty, or a lack of financial resources to support their family while attending school. The women stated their distinct responsibilities within their homes: cooking, caring for small brothers, and caring for the elderly members of the family. Attending school is regarded as a luxury in this scenario, and it is only pursued until the subject learns fundamental education (writing, reading, and counting). The second cause is having children and giving birth. Lastly, the third main reason for dropping
29
