Construction work on a new kindergarten with a capacity for 270 spots began on March 8, 2024, in the Erdec settlement of Kragujevac, contributing to reducing the waiting list for enrolment in the “Đurđevdan” preschool institution.

The foundation stone for the new kindergarten was ceremoniously laid by Minister of Education Prof. Dr. Slavica Djukic Dejanovic, President of the City Assembly of Kragujevac Ivica Momcilovic, member of the City Council for Education Dusan Aleksic, and and member of the Temporary Authority of the City of Kragujevac, Miroslav Petrasinovic.

The new kindergarten will cover an area of 1700 m2, with funding of around 200 million dinars provided by the Ministry of Education through the “Inclusive Early Childhood Education and Care” project, implemented in collaboration with the World Bank.

Minister of Education Slavica Djukic Dejanovic emphasized the goal of the Government of Serbia and the Ministry of Education to ensure that preschool education and care for children are comprehensive, and that conditions in kindergartens are optimal for growth, learning, and work.

“The Ministry is investing 48 million euros in the construction of 23 kindergartens across 22 local self-governments throughout Serbia. What we gain as a result of this investment are 11,000 new places for admitting children into preschool institutions across Serbia,” said the Minister, emphasizing that besides investing in increasing the capacities of preschool institutions, they are also investing in the quality of preschool education and care.

“We believe this is the foundation for a successful future, and we are particularly focused on strengthening cooperation between our institutions and parents. This cooperation is crucial and in the best interest of every child, and significant for enhancing and improving parenting skills,” said the Minister, adding that special emphasis is placed on encouraging enrolment of children from the Roma population into preschool programs.

“Through this Project, in collaboration with the City Administration, both preschool institutions in Kragujevac and the non-governmental organization “RomaniPen”, the Ministry of Education has prepared special flexible half-day programs for children from this population and provided support to Roma families, not only in terms of education and enrolling children in kindergartens, but more broadly. The result of our joint activities is 120 children from the Roma population attending flexible programs for 4 hours 2 to 3 times a week and 40 children attending full-day programs,” she added.

Djukić Dejanović stressed that caring for younger generations is the task of all of us—government, local governments, and each of us individually.

“Our activities in terms of providing better conditions for development, learning, and growing up of young people must be synchronised, must be partnership-oriented, and must lead to the same goal. Such were our activities with the City Administration of Kragujevac, and today, by laying the foundation stone, we set ourselves a new goal—to complete a new kindergarten in Kragujevac, in the Erdeč settlement, within seven months,” said the Minister.

Representatives of the City of Kragujevac, President of the City Assembly Ivica Momcilovic, member of the City Council for Education Dusan Aleksic, and and member of the Temporary Authority of the City of Kragujevac Miroslav Petrasinović emphasised the commitment of the local self-government to create environments where children will have safe and happy conditions for growing up, thereby reducing waiting lists for enrolment in preschool institutions.

The construction of new kindergartens is realized within the “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” project, which the Ministry of Education is implementing with the support of the World Bank. This Project is dedicated to increasing the capacities of preschool institutions across Serbia by 11,000 new places and improving preschool education through the introduction of new program foundations, training of professional staff, mentor support, and educator training. An important aspect of the program is the inclusion of children from the earliest age.

You can see the photos here.

Minister of Education Prof. Dr Slavica Djukic Dejanovic and president of the municipality of Pecinci, Sinisa Djokic, laid the foundation stone for a facility within the Preschool Institution “Vlada Obradović Kameni” in this municipality. Minister Djukic Dejanovic stated that the Government of the Republic of Serbia is dedicated to enhancing the quality and modernizing education, creating better conditions for work and learning.

“Education holds a particularly important place, as evidenced today by the expansion of the kindergarten in Pećinci, with an investment worth over 45 million dinars, which will expand the existing facility by 550 square meters, providing an additional 80 new places for children,” said the Minister of Education.

She also mentioned that the planned construction includes a total of 23 facilities in 22 local governments, along with the adaptation and equipping of rooms, ensuring an additional 11,000 places for children in kindergartens across Serbia.

“In this way, support is provided to local government, as well as to parents and children,” emphasized the Minister, who had previously visited Šimanovci and the facility within the Preschool Institution “Vlada Obradović Kameni”, where she toured 10 rooms equipped under the “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” project.

Through the “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” project, the Ministry of Education also provides systematic support to improve the quality of the preschool education system in the Republic of Serbia. The mayor of Pećinci, Siniša Đokić, announced that today marks the beginning of an investment that will eliminate waiting lists for kindergarten enrolment in Pećinci.

“Soon, we will begin the reconstruction and expansion of kindergartens in Obrež, and when these two investments are completed, we will no longer have waiting lists anywhere in our municipality. All parents who wish to enrol their children in kindergarten will be able to do so. Children are our priority, and that is why we invest heavily in educational facilities. Just in the last few years, new kindergartens have been built in Šimanovci and Kupinovo, while complete reconstructions have been carried out in Karlovčić, Brestač, and Ogar. Our goal is to make child-rearing easier for parents, and that is why as of this year, daycare in kindergartens is completely free for all children,” said the mayor of Pećinci, Siniša Đokić.

As part of additional equipment for preschool institutions, the Preschool Institution in Pecinci also received ICT equipment worth nearly 140,000 dinars, as well as low mobile furniture valued at around 215,000 dinars. The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the World Bank through the “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” project, valued at 47 million euros, is implementing the construction of new facilities, expansion, adaptation, and equipping of existing facilities across Serbia. So far, 9 kindergartens have been built, while construction is underway for another 14 facilities. Additionally, through the Project, nearly 300 kindergarten rooms have been adapted and equipped for half-day and full-day stays in over 70 local self-government units, benefiting more than 6,000 children.” You can see the photos here.