A national round table on the problems of ethnic integration is taking place in Asenovgrad in Southern Bulgaria.

According to ministry of education data, there are around 21,000 children, mostly of them of Roma origin, who have dropped out of school. In the words of Deputy Prime Minister Valery Simeonov, the government has taken steps to set up groups from different institutions to work towards the integration of all children into the system of education and putting in place measures with regard to parents who do not ensure their children’s school attendance. Ombudsman Maya Manolova stated she supported the mechanism of school attendance coverage for all children and that she would monitor how the government is coping with this task. The forum continues with debates on employment.