The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers has in November made public the second report
on the situation of minority languages in Slovakia. This report has
been drawn up by a committee of independent experts which monitors the
application of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
On the basis of the report, the Committee of Ministers recommends the
Slovak authorities to provide for adequate teaching of all minority
languages at all appropriate levels of school education.
Teacher-training should also be improved. Slovakia is further
encouraged to improve public television and radio broadcasting in all
minority languages and make it easier for private television and radio
to broadcast in minority languages. The creation of newspapers in all
minority languages should also be encouraged. Furthermore, the
Committee of Ministers calls on Slovakia to continue measures to
abolish the practice of unjustified enrolment of Roma children in
schools for children with special needs.
The
report was adopted by the Committee of Experts of the Charter in April
2009, and therefore does not contain any assessment of the amendments
of the State Language Act of Slovakia of 30 June 2009. The regional or
minority languages protected under the Charter in Slovakia are
Hungarian, German, Ruthenian, Ukrainian, Romani, Czech, Bulgarian,
Croatian and Polish.