Slovakia must compensate child deprived of education during Covid-19 pandemic

Slovakia must pay 3,000 euros to a young girl who was unable to benefit from distance learning during the Covid-19 pandemic due to insufficient internet access, according to a court decision handed down on Tuesday (28 November) in Prešov. According to the student’s lawyers, this is the first European verdict on the digital divide.

During the pandemic, Slovakia proceeded one of the longest periods of school closures in the world. With full-time education interrupted, distance learning was implemented.

However, as asserts the plaintiff in her legal actionthis type of learning was only possible with access to the internet and digital technologies, which the young girl and her family did not have and which the State did not make available to them.

“For the first time, the Slovak court highlighted the “digital divide” that exists between the majority of society and disadvantaged communities – a divide that is widening every day in the digital age. The Court confirmed that this is discrimination and that the State must eliminate it”said Vanda Durbáková, the student’s lawyer.

The court’s decision could still be appealed, but the Slovak Center for Civil and Human Rights describes it as ” revolutionary “ and the first of its kind in Europe.

“The court decision confirms the serious failings of the State at the time of the pandemic”, affirms Mme Durbáková.

The tribunal a conclu that Slovakia had discriminated in access to education, information and freedom of expression “by failing to take appropriate measures to guarantee the complainant equal access to education during the pandemic”said a spokesperson for the Prešov District Court.

According to the complainant’s grandmother, her granddaughter’s school only educated Roma children by distributing worksheets every week during closure periods, without providing help or feedback.

She decided to take legal action because “The school did not teach Roma children as it should have, and I perceived this as discrimination.”

“I am happy that the court ruled in my favor”she said.

During the hearing, the Slovak Ministry of Education denied any discrimination against the student, asserting that the introduction of distance learning preserved the students’ constitutional right to education.