In our study, we examine what kind of educational qualifications Roma residents living in shantytown conditions in a large city in Hungary have, what their motivation to learn is like and to what extent school dropout is typical among them. We can compare our research results with the national statistical data available only in a limited number, because the analysis of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office’s Microcensus 2016 data revealing ethnicity data is the last database on the subject under examination. The theoretical part of our paper covers the historical presentation of Roma participation in education, the background factors of school failure and dropout. We used univariate and multivariate analysis techniques to evaluate our research data. According to the analysis of the data, the proportion of Roma with vocational qualifications and certificate of baccalaureate among Roma living in the shantytown conditions examined is higher than in the 2016 national survey. Our data confirmed the sociological findings that the primary role of girls in Roma families is to contribute to family life, even at the detriment of learning, since fewer of the girls living in the shantytown continue their education than boys. According to our results, the respondents are aware that higher education is supposed to lead to find better jobs, but the responses reflect bad experiences and one third of the Roma in the shantytown believe that living in the shantytown is a disadvantage when trying to find a job.