“Carolija” kindergarten in Vladicin Han was officially opened today in the presence of the Minister of Education Branko Ruzic and the president of the Municipality of Vladicin Han, Goran Mladenovic.

With the addition of two new rooms within the facility, the capacities of the Preschool “Pcelica” have been expanded, providing 40 new places for children. More than 23 million dinars were invested in the extension and equipment of the kindergarten, and the works were completed within the planned period, in just seven months.

“With the addition of two new rooms, we have further expanded the capacities in Vladicin Han and created the conditions for greater inclusion of children in preschool upbringing and education,” said Minister Branko Ruzic and added that in this way the Ministry of Education supports the local self-government of Vladicin Han, educators, and parents in providing good conditions for working with children and their upbringing.

During 2021, 3 and a half million dinars were set aside for the adaptation and furnishing of three rooms in the “Carolija” kindergarten, and the implementation was carried out by the Ministry of Education within the project “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” with the support of the Novak Djokovic Foundation, while through the same project equipped and newly built kindergarten “Zvoncica” worth over 2 million dinars. In addition, through the grant programs of the Project, efforts are being made to include as many children as possible in the system of preschool Education and Care, especially children from socially sensitive groups, as well as hiring educators to work with children and educate them. So far, about two and a half million dinars have been invested in the implementation of the grant program in Vladicin Han, and an additional million and four hundred thousand dinars have been set aside for its continuation in 2023.

“Today is a special day, we got rid of the waiting list for enrollment in kindergarten, as we promised.” By expanding the facility of the “Carolija” kindergarten and putting into operation two more classrooms, we have created the conditions for kindergarten to become available to every child and for every child to receive equal conditions for preschool development,” said the president of the municipality of Vladicin, Han Goran Mladenovic.

The construction and adaptation of the kindergarten is part of the project “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” implemented by the Ministry of Education with the financial support of the World Bank, which improves the availability, quality, and conditions of preschool Education and Care for all children. Through the project, 11,000 new places in kindergartens for children are provided through construction, extension, adaptation, and equipment.

The project, in addition to the above, supports the New Basics of the Preschool Education Program and strengthens the competencies of educators. During the previous year, all educators from PU “Pcelica”, in Vladicin Han, went through mentoring support and training in the application of the New Basics of the preschool education program. Through the implementation of the Project, emphasis is also placed on providing support to families with children, with a focus on families from sensitive social groups, encouraging the inclusion of children in the system of preschool upbringing and education, all with the aim of providing stimulating conditions for the development of all children.

You can see other photos here.

The conference “Support for Improving the Quality of preschool education and Care in the Republic of Serbia” was held on November 23, 2022, in Belgrade. The Minister of Education Branko Ruzic opened the conference, and on that occasion stated that preschool education is one of the topics that are the closest focus of the Ministry of Education and the Government of the Republic of Serbia.

“In order to support that system, the Ministry of Education, in cooperation with the World Bank, is implementing the Inclusive Preschool Education project, which is the largest and most complex project at the national level dedicated to this area,” said Minister Ruzic.

The goal of that project, he said, is to provide a greater number of places for our youngest through the construction, expansion, and adaptation of existing preschool institutions.

Ruzic mentioned that the quality of preschool upbringing and education will be improved by providing professional support to preschool institutions in the implementation of the new program concept “Godine uzleta”.

The conference, during which two panels were held, was dedicated to the presentation of reform processes in the system of preschool upbringing and education, the exchange of practical experiences and knowledge, as well as the presentation of achieved results within the project “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care”, which the Ministry of Education is implementing in cooperation with the World Bank, all with the aim of further improving the preschool education system in Serbia.

Nikola Pontara, head of the World Bank office in Serbia, said: “There are clear indicators of the key role of early development in the development of human capital.” Attending educational institutions from an early age brings children long-term benefits and positively affects their ability to learn health and behavior. It also increases the chances of earning more in the future. Access to quality preschool education is also a powerful tool in the fight against declining learning ability and learning inequality. To ensure these advantages, a decisive commitment to early development is needed: that is why I am extremely glad to see that early development and the building of human capital are high on the list of priorities of the Government of Serbia.”

During the first panel entitled “Support of the Ministry of Education to the Improvement of the Quality of Preschool Education and Care”, Biljana Kojovic, coordinator of component 2 of the “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” Project, which is basically dedicated to improving the quality of preschool Education and Care, addressed the attendees, as well as the Conference itself. Biljana Kojovic, together with the other interlocutors of this panel – prof. Dr. Zivka Krnjaj from the Institute of Pedagogy and Andragogy of the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, Vesna Kartal from UNICEF, and Jasmina Djelic, Head of the Department for Coordination of School Administrations – talked about the reform processes in the field of preschool Education and Care, presented the new Basics of the preschool program of education, which enabled the Ministry of Education to provide quality, continuous and, for the first time, systemic support to the PU in building quality practices.

During the second panel entitled “From practice to practice”, those present had the opportunity to learn more about the practical aspects of the implementation of the Program through the exchange of experiences and knowledge of professional associates, consultants, and directors of PU.

You can download the presentations from the Conference here.

You can see photos from the Gathering here.

The Conference was attended by more than 250 representatives of preschool education institutions – directors, educators, external collaborators, as well as representatives of the World Bank, local self-government, and others, while over 300 representatives, who were not able to attend in person, followed the conference via live stream on youtube channel.

As part of the “Inclusive Preschool Education” project implemented by the Ministry of Education, in partnership with the Novak Djokovic Foundation, three more classrooms in the territory of the municipality of Sid, the village of Erdevik, were adapted and equipped with a loan from the World Bank.

This municipality is characterized by disunity, as well as a multinational environment consisting of Serbs, Slovaks, Ruthenians, and others.

In the past period, after the return of families from abroad due to the coronavirus, the development of the wine industry, tourism, and agriculture led to the need to expand the capacity of the PU and the need for a full-day stay and space adaptation.

PU “Jelica Stanivukovic Silja” within the primary school “Sava Sumanovic” in Erdevik received the use of 3 study rooms for 3 educational groups (one older daycare, one mixed, and one preschool).

The Novak Djokovic Foundation, together with the Ministry of Education within the Inclusive Preschool Education project, recognized their need and adapted and fully equipped three study rooms.

Renovation works included the replacement of floors, walls, ceilings, joinery, and lighting, as well as the installation of air conditioning. The new, adapted rooms are fully adapted to the needs of children and educators and follow the new basics of the preschool education program.

In addition to the furniture that was selected and adapted to each age group, the rooms are equipped with new toys, carpets, lazy bags, easels for painting, books, and necessary consumables.

In this way, we have enabled the joint forces for a large number of families to remain in the countryside and for their children to have the same quality conditions for early education as in the cities.

In the new groups in the territory of the municipality of Sid, 65 new children aged from 1.5 to 7 years were enrolled and the premises were adapted and equipped in accordance with the needs of our youngest residents.

You can see other photos here.

Fadia M. Sadah, Regional Director of the World Bank for Human Development for Europe and Central Asia, visited Serbia. The main reason for the visit is to meet with the representatives of the relevant ministries and discuss the success of the jointly implemented projects, as well as future cooperation.

On that occasion, on November 18, a meeting was held with Branko Ruzic, Minister of Education, after which a tour of the newly opened kindergarten “VRACARAC” was organized as part of the “Vracar” Preschool. This kindergarten is an example of successful cooperation between the local government, the Vracar City Municipality of the City of Belgrade, and the Ministry of Education. The space for this facility was provided by the Municipality of Vracar, which adapted part of the space of the municipal administration for the needs of the kindergarten. The facility was equipped by the “Novak Djokovic” Foundation through the “Inclusive Preschool Education” project, which is implemented by the Ministry of Education in cooperation with the World Bank. On that occasion, the director of PU “Vracar”, Jelena Jelenic Jankovic, and her team, hosted Dr. Aleksandar Jovic, Assistant Minister of Education, Fadia M. Sadah, regional director of the World Bank for Human Development for Europe and Central Asia, Nikola Pontar, head of the World Bank office in Serbia, prof. Dr. Biljana Hroneos Krasavac, Director of the Project, Maja Kremic, Director of the “Novak Djokovic” Foundation, and other representatives of the World Bank, the Project Unit of the Ministry of Education, and the NDF.

In accordance with the national strategy for the development of education and upbringing in the Republic of Serbia until 2030, which includes the further development of the system of preschool Education and Care in accordance with the needs of children and families as support for the well-being and overall development of preschool children, the Ministry of Education is implementing the project “Inclusive preschool upbringing and education” worth 47 million euros, as so far the largest and most complex project at the national level dedicated to preschool education.

The Ministry, in cooperation with relevant organizations and partner institutions, has been intensively working for many years on the realization of measures and activities that contribute to the expansion of the coverage of children with quality preschool upbringing and education, providing support to the family in achieving its educational function, strengthening the professional competencies of the professional staff, improving cooperation with other relevant actors in providing social support to children and families.

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In the period October – November 2022, the fourth media campaign SMALL STORIES FOR BIG PEOPLE was implemented as part of the project.

Through this series of educational stories, we learn how much parental attention plays a significant role in developing a child’s positive image of himself and the development of his personality.

Involvement in daily activities gives children a sense of security and positively affects the development of their skills and the acquisition of healthy habits. Activities such as dressing independently, helping with cleaning the house, and similar, help the child to develop independence and self-confidence, but also patience, cooperation, and self-discipline.

The development of skills and habits requires time and the support of parents, which is reflected in their patient and tolerant attitude towards the child’s attempts and efforts. In this way, the child will be motivated and persevere in acquiring skills, because the parents will show him that even the completion of small tasks is valued and appreciated.

As part of this media campaign, the stories: “Upside Down Education”, “Big Bite”, “Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is” and “Tied in a Knot” are presented, which, in addition to the above, also aim to point out the importance of preschool Education and Care on children’s development. as well as to contribute to the development of an inclusive society.

The campaign was carried out on national television, as well as on online portals and social networks.

You can follow the media campaign SMALL STORIES FOR BIG PEOPLE on our Facebook page Big People from a young age, while you can watch the videos on our YouTube channel.

For more information, join and follow the Viber group Big People from a young age. See all versions of educational stories on our YouTube channel.