State Secretary of the Ministry of Education Zoran Kasalovic and Mayor of Novi Pazar Nihat Bisevac attended on 05/27/2023. to the parenting fair at the preschool institution “Mladost” in Novi Pazar and the laying of the foundation stone for the construction of a new garden.

With the laying of the foundation stone in Stevan Nemanja Street in Novi Pazar, the construction of the new children’s combination of the institution “Nase dete” begins, which will provide 270 new places for preschool children, which will be ongoing. More than 210

million dinars will be invested in the construction of the new facility, which will cover 1,900 square meters.

“By constructing a new building, we are investing in the future – we are creating conditions for the admission of new children to the preschool education system because we are paying special attention to increasing the inclusion of children in preschool education,” said Zoran Kasalovic, State Secretary of the Ministry of Education.

“The Ministry of Education advocates for the early and equal inclusion of children, especially those from vulnerable social groups, in the preschool education system. We believe that this is the foundation for the healthy development of future generations through socialization, learning, and play. This is the fifth Parenting Fair organized by the Ministry,” he said.

During the Parenting Fair, 14 workshops for parents and children were held and various educational institutions were presented, as well as local self-government institutions such as – preschool institutions: “Mladost”, “Stevan Mokranjac” Music School, “Dositej Obradovic” National Library, Association of Psychologists Novi Pazar, Sports Association Novi Pazar and Association for School Sports Novi Pazar, Center for Social Work Novi Pazar, as well as the Recycling Center of the public utility company.

Visitors to the Fair, around 400 parents with children, had the opportunity to find out in one place about their parental rights, as well as about the services and support provided by the mentioned institutions.

Parents had the opportunity to improve their parenting skills through various types of workshops, as well as to participate in various creative activities together with their children.

“We invite all parents to visit the Parenting Fair in Novi Pazar and familiarize themselves with the opportunities available to them. We believe that this will be an opportunity for useful discussions and education and that it will contribute to a better and healthier community,” said Nihat Bisevac, mayor of Novi Pazar.

“The parenting fair is an event that is extremely important for all parents, and especially for those who are looking for support in the upbringing and development of their children. At this Fair, parents will be able to get acquainted with the latest trends in the field of parenting, as

well as to be informed about the services available to them within local institutions.

This Fair is an opportunity for parents to meet experts from different fields, exchange experiences with other parents and get advice on how to best support their child in his development. “Also, this is an excellent opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the rights that belong to parents, so that they can exercise their rights and react promptly in case of need,” he said.

The Parenting fair and the construction of a new building in Novi Pazar are part of the “Inclusive preschool education and care” project implemented by the Ministry of Education, with the support of the World Bank, which aims to improve the availability, quality, and conditions of preschool education.

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Contracts on the building of two new gardens in Arandjelovac and Alibunar were signed today at the Ministry of Education, as well as a contract on the extension of the existing building in Pecinci. The contracts were signed on behalf of the local governments by the president of the municipality of Arandjelovac Bojan Radovic, the president of the municipality of Alibunar Zorana Bratic, and the president of the municipality of Pecinci Sinisa Djokic.

State Secretary Zoran Kasalovic was present at the signing and showed that investing in education was and remains one of the priorities of the Ministry of Education.

“Through the construction of new gardens and the addition of existing ones, we support parents and children. We believe that supporting the development and education of children from the earliest age is very important and that it is the basis for their further education, but also for a happy childhood and future. That is exactly why we are dedicated to working on it through the “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” project, said Zoran Kasalovic.

With the construction of a new kindergarten in Arandjelovac, which will cover an area of ​​about 810 square meters, 120 new places will be provided for children who will be divided into 6 groups, while the new kindergarten in Alibunar will provide 220 new places for children who will be divided into 11 groups, and the area of ​​the new facility will be about 1450 square meters. About 87 million dinars have been set aside for the construction of a new facility in Arandjelovac, and a budget of about 156 million dinars has been planned for the new kindergarten in Alibunar.

“The municipality of Arandjelovac thanks the Ministry of Education for the trust that has been shown in us to implement such an important project, which will enable the enrollment of many children from the waiting list in preschool institutions. Through systematic work in the construction of new buildings and the extension of existing ones, we enabled the enrollment of all children in kindergartens.

Despite the significant increase in the number of employees on the territory of our municipality in the enrollment year 2022/2023. again we had a certain number of children on the waiting list. For these reasons, the construction of new Preschool institutions “Duga”, with a capacity of up to 120 children, is a project of essential importance. We are convinced that the excellent cooperation we have with the Government of the Republic of Serbia will continue in the coming period, to the satisfaction of all citizens of the municipality of Arandjelovac,” said Bojan Radovic, president of the municipality of Arandjelovac, on the occasion of the signing.

“The construction of a new kindergarten has multiple significance and influence on the development of the social community in the municipality of Alibunar, where the emphasis is on the carefree and quality education of children in a modern environment that the new facility brings with it.” It is also important to note that conditions will be created for the expansion of existing capacities, and new employment of professional staff in the inclusion of children. We can proudly say that this will be the most significant project that will be implemented in our municipality in the field of education in recent years,” said Alibunar municipality president Zorana Bratic.

The extension of the existing building in Pecinci, which will provide an additional 560 square meters, will expand the capacity for 80 new places. Preschool children will be divided into 4 groups. The investment is worth about 56 million dinars.

For the municipality of Pecinci, this is one of the most significant investments, because it solves one of our pressing problems – the lack of space in the kindergarten. This problem is most pronounced in Pecinci and Obrez. With this investment, for which we signed the contract today, we will solve the problem with the space in Pecinci, and soon we expect the beginning of the reconstruction of the kindergarten in Obrez, which would solve the problem practically in the entire municipality. All of this would not have been possible without the support of the President of the Republic and the Government of the Republic of Serbia, to whom we are grateful for their understanding of the needs of the citizens of the Pecinci Municipality,” said the President of the Pecinci Municipality, Sinisa Djokic.

The Ministry of Education, in cooperation with the World Bank and with the support of local governments, is implementing the project of building new and upgrading existing kindergartens within the project “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care”. This project, in addition to capacity expansion, pays special attention to the improvement of preschool education and care through the introduction of the New Foundations of the Program, as well as the knowledge and skills of professional staff through mentoring support and training for about 12,000 educators. An important aspect of the project is communication and support for families with young children, especially families from vulnerable social groups.

You can see other photos here.