Contracts for the financing and construction of new kindergartens in Leskovac and Cicevac were signed today at the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Serbia. The contracts were signed by the Minister of Education, Ph.D. Slavica DJukic Dejanovic, President of the Municipality of Cicevac, Mirjana Krkic, Deputy Mayor of Leskovac, Lidija Dimitrijevic, and representatives of the contractors.

The construction of two new kindergartens will provide a total of 320 new places for children, with 120 in Leskovac and 200 in Cicevac. The new facility in Leskovac will cover about 780 square meters, with an investment of over 102 million dinars. More than 174 million dinars will be invested in the construction of the new kindergarten in Cicevac, which will cover an area of approximately 1,360 square meters. The planned deadline for the completion of the works is 8 months from the laying of the foundation stone.

“The signing of the contract for the financing and construction of two new kindergartens, with a total value of about 277 million dinars, confirms the commitment of the Ministry of Education to improving the preschool education system. By building new facilities and expanding capacity, we continue with our mission to support the development and education of children from the earliest age. We believe that their inclusion in the system of pre-school education and care is crucial, representing the foundation for their happy childhood, further education, as well as their entire future,” said Minister of Education, Ph.D. Slavica DJukic Dejanovic.

“Carolija” preschool operates in a central building in Cicevac itself, which was built in 1956 for the needs of the ambulance at the time and adapted in 1972 for the needs of the preschool in which it still operates. Further adaptation of such an old building is not possible, and our current needs and the number of children exceed this space. The construction of a new kindergarten will completely change the picture of preschool education for children in our municipality. The biggest benefit will be for our youngest and their parents, and after that, the local self-government, as they will invest fewer funds in the adaptation and repairs of the dilapidated building and its installations. It is particularly significant that our youngest will receive a space built according to the latest standards, where they will develop and grow up in the most sensitive period of their lives,” said Mirjana Krkic, President of the Municipality of Cicevac.

The Deputy Mayor of Leskovac, Lidija Dimitrijevic, mentioned that the city of Leskovac approaches education with dedication and allocates more funds for this area every year, considering it a supporting pillar of the development of the entire society.

“The new facility of the Preschool “Vukica Mitrovic” will increase the capacity for children to stay in kindergartens, which will not fully meet the needs of our city, but it is a step closer to solving the situation we are in. We will build another pleasant and safe place where preschool upbringing and education takes place – a kindergarten where children will enjoy learning and feel safe to explore and do new things,” said Deputy Mayor Dimitrijevic.

The construction of two new kindergartens is part of the “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” project, which the Ministry of Education is implementing with the support of the World Bank and in cooperation with local governments. The project, in addition to expanding the capacity of preschool institutions, pays special attention to improving preschool education 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 educators. The plan is to build and upgrade a total of 23 facilities in 22 local governments, providing a total of 11,000 new places for children. Additionally, more than 12,000 educators will receive mentoring support and training. An important aspect of the program is the inclusion of children from the earliest age. The total value of the project is 47 million euros.

You can see the photos here.

In the presence of the Minister of Education, Ph.D. Slavica DJukic Dejanovic, the head of the World Bank office in Serbia, Nikola Pontara, and the president of the municipality of Sid, Zoran Semenovic, the newly built kindergarten in Sid was officially opened today. The new facility, whose construction cost 131 million dinars and covers an area of about 1,100 square meters, will be able to accommodate 140 new children, who will be divided into seven educational groups. The kindergarten was built on schedule, in just 12 months.

6 million dinars were set aside for equipping the new “Roda” kindergarten with didactic materials and furniture, and van transportation was organized for all children from the territory of the municipality of Sid who live in rural and rural areas.

Today we are opening a new kindergarten for another 140 children. It will be the fourth facility of this institution in the city area, which together with kindergartens in 17 rural areas will form a network of preschool institutions that open their doors to the children of this local government. The goal of the Ministry of Education is to increase the coverage of children in preschool upbringing and education, not only through the construction and increase of capacities, but also through training and raising the competencies of employees. In this way, we nurture educational forms and children of this time so that they are prepared and equipped for the future, which we will be particularly proud of. There is no better goal than investing in children. That’s why, with the support of the World Bank, we are building and upgrading kindergartens and thereby providing another 11,000 new places for children throughout Serbia,” said the Minister of Education.

Nikola Pontara, director of the World Bank Office in Serbia, pointed out that we are particularly proud to open the new Roda kindergarten in Sid.

“This is one of the successful examples of cooperation between the World Bank and the Ministry of Education of Serbia within the Project of Inclusive Preschool Education. We are delighted that the children will be able to spend their school days in pleasant conditions and make the most of their learning experiences. Investing in early childhood development and education is one of the smartest things a country can do. Attending preschool has lifelong benefits for children – it lays a strong foundation for their intellectual, social, emotional and physical development. Children who attend preschool perform better academically, enjoy higher lifetime incomes, and are less likely to exhibit behavioral problems. Quality early childhood education is also a very powerful tool to fight poverty and inequality and to build human capital for the future,” said Pontara.

“The newly built facility of Preschool “Jelica Stanivukovic Silja” of over 1,000 square meters intended for 140 children who will stay there, is one of the most important projects that, with the support of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Ministry of Education, we have realized in the past period, not only the value of the completed works of over 130 million dinars, but also for the importance that the existence of such an object has for parents of preschool children. They will now be able to carefree leave their little ones in the care and education of professionals and devote themselves to their duties and work, and the other objects of the preschool institution will, after a long time, be relieved. This is a big day for the municipality of Sid and its citizens,” said Zoran Semenovic, president of the municipality of Sid.

The construction of the new facility in Sid, which began in September 2022, is part of the broader cooperation between the Ministry of Education and the World Bank, which is implemented as part of the “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” program. This project is dedicated to increasing the capacity of preschool institutions across Serbia by 11,000 new places, as well as improving preschool education and care through the introduction of the New Fundamentals program and through the education of professional staff and mentoring support and training for educators. An important aspect of the program is the inclusion of children from the earliest age. This project includes 23 buildings, and the value of the investment is 47 million euros.

You can see the photos here.

Minister of Education Ph.D. Slavica DJukic Dejanovic, on September 11, 2023, visited the “Dr. Simo Milosevic” preschool, the “Zemunski Biser” kindergarten, which is the center of the cluster in the Program of Support for Preschool Institutions in the Implementation of the Foundations of the Preschool Education Program – “Godine Uzleta“, and awarded them a Certificate of Appreciation to support the horizontal learning of practitioners within the model Joint learning by modeling.

Minister Slavica DJukic Dejanovic, Ph.D., visited the kindergarten with Nikola Pontara, director of the World Bank office in Serbia, and Dejana Kostadinova, director of UNICEF in Serbia. During the tour of the kindergarten, she spoke with the children and teachers and expressed her satisfaction with the significant changes at the level of preschool upbringing and education, which were initiated by the introduction of the new program concept “Godine Uzleta”.

At the same time, as part of the 4th cycle of counseling of educational advisors, which is organized from the funds of component 2 of the project “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care”, educational advisors from the school administrations of Zrenjanin, Novi Sad and Sombor visited the kindergarten throughout the day, in order to preparations for external evaluation of preschool institutions in accordance with the revised Quality Framework. The minister used the visit to greet the educational advisers and talk with them about their current and upcoming activities.

Zemun kindergarten is one of 5 kindergartens – cluster centers on the territory of the Republic of Serbia together with kindergartens in Cacak, Novi Sad, Loznica and Pirot. In order to strengthen these kindergartens for the implementation of one-day accredited professional meetings for colleagues – practitioners from other preschool institutions, the Institute of Pedagogy and Andragogy of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Belgrade, within the Project, developed training for those responsible for the change of practice in preschool institutions, which was attended by all educators from of these kindergartens.

Also, through the project, these kindergartens are equipped with low mobile furniture, ICT equipment and didactic tools.

By June 2023, the Kindergarten “Zemunski Biser” was visited by about 330 educators, professional associates and directors from 32 preschool institutions from all over Serbia during 11 expert meetings. Visits to the kindergarten – a center of the cluster additionally empowered practitioners from other preschool institutions in developing quality practice in accordance with the Foundations of the program, but also practitioners from Zemun because they had the opportunity to learn together, through quality mutual professional exchanges.

The visits will continue in the period September – December 2023.

You can see the photos here.