Judgment of the District Court in Prešov in the case of the digital divide and access to education
The District Court in Prešov, by a judgment from 6 November 2023, ruled in the case of a Roma child who had no access to education during the Covid-19 pandemic due to limited internet access and digital technologies. A Roma girl from a disadvantaged community in Jarovnice sued the Ministry of Education, which failed to provide her with equal access to online distance education during the Covid-19 pandemic. Poradňa provided her with free legal representation in the court proceedings. The court upheld the claim and awarded damages in the full amount of €3,000. This is the first judgment of its kind not only in Slovakia, but also in Europe, which has highlighted the disadvantages in access to digital technologies and the internet faced by some groups in Slovak society, which are of a wider systemic nature.