CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON KINDERGARTEN IN KRAGUJEVAC, ERDEC SETTLEMENT, PROVIDING 270 NEW SPOTS FOR CHILDREN

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.