Some 10 per cent of Slovakia's population are of Roma ethnicity, most of whom are illiterate and live in poverty in the country's far east.

In an attempt to integrate them into Slovak society, the government has suggested a radical proposal: that Roma children be sent to boarding schools.

The plan has already been condemned as illegal by human-rights groups and the European Union. Yet many in Slovakia see it as an essential measure to improve Roma standards of life.

Al Jazeera's Laurence Lee reports from the city of Rankovce.