As part of the “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” project implemented by the Ministry of Education, funded by a World Bank loan, 4 workrooms have been adapted and equipped in the “Srce” kindergarten at the “Miša Cvijović” Preschool Institution in the municipality of Prijepolje.

The preschool institution in Prijepolje began operating in 1968. Approximately 1,100 children are enrolled in the “Miša Cvijović” preschool institution, distributed across 5 facilities and 5 detached elementary school departments, which is a total of 48 groups. Currently, there are 89 children on the waiting list.

At the beginning of 2024, construction will begin on a new facility in the Bostani settlement will begin, with a capacity of 10 groups, accommodating 200 children.

Brodarevo is a multiethnic area with 30 villages and 69 hamlets, home to around 10,000 inhabitants. The “Srce” facility was built in 1987 and is located in the Brodarevo neighbourhood, 25 km from Prijepolje, and is the only kindergarten in the Brodarevo area. The “Srce” facility has 120 children enrolled, aged from 1 to 6.5 years, including children from rural and remote villages. The children have access to full-day, half-day, and flexible programs funded by the ECEC Project Grant Program.

The children have equal opportunities for learning and development. Through participation in the programs, the children have the chance to be happy, feel satisfied, fulfilled, and accepted, and build relationships of trust and respect, closeness, and confidence.

Considering that the children have been in inadequate and unequipped spaces for many years, thanks to the Ministry of Education through the “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” project, after 37 years, the children and staff are now in one of the most modernly equipped facilities of the “Miša Cvijović” preschool institution. This donation and capacity expansion have eliminated the waiting list for child enrolment.

The Ministry of Education, through a World Bank loan, has allocated part of the funds and completely renovated and equipped 4 workrooms, allowing for the enrolment of approximately 90 children, 75 preschool-aged children, and 15 nursery-aged children.

The rooms have been equipped with furniture, toys, didactic materials, consumables, picture and books, chosen with special attention to the needs of the age groups.

Additionally, all rooms underwent space adaptation, including plastering, painting, repairing and replacing damaged parquet, and sanding. The hallways in front of the rooms have been adapted with new floors and wall coverings. Four bathrooms have been renovated, a new water supply and sewage network for all toilets have been installed, floors have been done, and worn-out sanitary ware has been replaced.

You can see the photos here.

Minister of Education, Prof. Dr. Slavica Djukic Dejanovic, the President of the Arandjelovac Municipality, Bojan Radovic, and the President of the Municipal Assembly of Arandjelovac, Nikola Obradovic, laid the foundation stone for the construction of a new kindergarten in this town. Minister Djukic Dejanovic stated that the Government of the Republic of Serbia is committed to improving the quality and modernization of education, which requires better conditions for work and learning through infrastructure projects.

“Therefore, education holds a special place in the ‘Leap into the Future Serbia – 2027’ project, as evidenced today by the construction of a new kindergarten in Arandjelovac,” said the Minister of Education, adding that the new facility will provide 120 new places for children.

“The plan is to build 23 facilities in 22 local governments, providing an additional 11,000 places for children in kindergartens. In this way, support is given to local governments, as well as to parents and children,” she emphasized. According to her, the new facility will cover approximately 800 square meters, and 86 million dinars have been allocated for its construction.

“By building the new kindergarten, we are ensuring incomparably better conditions for the children and staff of the ‘Duga’ Preschool Institution. When the works on the ‘Sunce 2’ kindergarten are completed, we will have space for organizing work with six educational groups, which will allow additional enrolment of children and greatly facilitate the work of the ‘Duga’ Preschool Institution. The municipality of Arandjelovac expresses great gratitude to the Ministry of Education and the entire Government of the Republic of Serbia for the tremendous help and allocated funds provided through the relevant ministries in recent years. Capital investments in various projects of vital importance for the development of Arandjelovac have enabled our municipality to progress, develop, and address fundamentally important issues of interest to all citizens,” said the President of the Municipality, Bojan Radovic, on this occasion.

The Ministry of Education has provided systematic support to improving the quality of the preschool education system in the Republic of Serbia in the previous period. This support also extends to the Preschool Institution in Arandjelovac and its employees. Trainings were organized for the employees, along with practical experiences through visits to cluster centres to enhance skills and knowledge. Special attention was given to the Inclusive Education Team, for which the training was organized with the aim of supporting the development of inclusive practices. Trainings were provided to 60% of educators to improve their digital competencies. Special funds were allocated by the Ministry of Education for additional equipment for the “Duga” Preschool Institution with ICT equipment and low mobile furniture. In cooperation with the World Bank, the Ministry of Education is implementing the construction of new, expansion, adaptation, and equipping of existing facilities across Serbia within the framework of the “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” project. This Project will cover a total of 23 facilities, and the investment is valued at 47 million euros.

You can see the photos here.

From December 2023 to January 2024, a media campaign was conducted within the framework of the “Inclusive Early Childhood Education and Care” project, aiming to raise public awareness about the importance of early inclusion of children in the preschool education system, the increase in capacity and accessibility of the preschool education system through the construction of new, and the adaptation and reconstruction of existing facilities, as well as the significance of introducing new program concepts in kindergartens.

For the past five years, the “Inclusive Early Childhood Education and Care” project and the implementation of the “Years of Ascent” concept have been improving the accessibility, quality, and equity of preschool education for every child from birth to 6.5 years old, especially for children from vulnerable social groups.

With the support of the World Bank, €47 million has been allocated for the project, with the main activities including the construction of new and the extension of existing facilities, adaptation and reconstruction of existing facilities to expand capacity and improve conditions for the implementation of educational work in kindergartens, as well as the improvement of the competencies of professional staff for the application of modern pedagogical approaches in working with children.

About 224,000 children of preschool age and their families, preschool institutions and over 22,000 practitioners, local communities (units of local self-government, institutions of education, health and social care), state administration institutions in charge of preschool upbringing and education will benefit from the project.

An important part of the project is the continuous improvement of the knowledge and skills of professional staff for the application of new program concepts, which has been attended by 95% of educators so far, and all public preschool institutions have received mentoring support. The expertise of staff in the areas of digital competencies, quality assessment of preschool education, and the application of an inclusive approach in education has been improved. Activities are underway to improve the programs of all 16 higher education institutions that educate preschool teachers.

The organization of Parenthood Fairs across Serbia aimed to support families and children and contribute to raising awareness about the importance of early inclusion and integration of children into the preschool education system. The Parenthood Fairs are an example of a new and direct way of communication between parents and institutions at the local level, during which parents had the opportunity to learn through educational and interactive workshops how to improve their parenting skills and why kindergartens are a good environment for their children’s growth. Additionally, these events aim to provide parents with important information about the rights and services offered by local institutions, establishments, and organizations in one place.

So far, through the “Inclusive Childhood Education and Care” project:

Nine kindergartens have been built in 22 local self-governments, with 14 more facilities under construction, which will provide almost 4,000 new places for preschool children.

Over 250 adapted, renovated, and equipped educational rooms for almost 5,000 children.

400 rooms equipped with ICT equipment and low mobile furniture.

Almost 22,000 practitioners trained to apply the “Years of Ascent”.

Projects funded in 34 local self-governments.

Increased accessibility of kindergartens for almost 4,000 children from vulnerable social groups.

You can follow the project on our Facebook page “Veliki ljudi od malih nogu”, and video materials available on our YouTube channel.

For more information, join and follow the Viber group “Veliki ljudi od malih nogu”.

Minister of Education Prof. Dr Slavica Đukić Dejanović and the President of the temporary governing body of the municipality of Aleksandrovac Mirko Mihajlović on 17 January 2024 solemnly laid the foundation stone for the construction of a new kindergarten with a capacity of 180 places for children.

“By building new facilities, we will create conditions for the admission of new children from the territory of the Aleksandrovac municipality to the system of preschool upbringing and education, which will support the local self-government, parents and children. Increasing the number of children, as well as improving the quality of the preschool education system, is one of the strategic goals of the Ministry. We believe that investing in the youngest and their education is of great importance for their future, but also for society in general,” said the Minister of Education, prof. Dr. Slavica Đukić Dejanović.

The new facility will cover an area of ​​1,500 m2, and more than 179 million dinars will be invested in its construction from the “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” project, which is being implemented by the Ministry in cooperation with the World Bank.

The President of the temporary governing body of the municipality of Aleksandrovac, Mirko Mihajlović, said that the administration and the citizens of Aleksandrovac have long been waiting for the day for the construction of the new kindergarten facility.

“This investment is of great importance for the citizens of our municipality because there is a multi-decade problem of placing preschool children into kindergarten due to lack of space. First of all, we solve the social and pedagogical problem, and then also the problem of employment of parents who could not get a job because of taking care of their children at home. On this occasion, I would like to praise the vision and determination of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the relevant Ministry of Education, which has been assigned to the implementation of the “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” program, and thank you for approving this project,” said Mihajlović.

The construction of the new kindergarten in Aleksandrovac is part of the “Inclusive Early Childhood Education and Care” project. This project is implemented by the Ministry of Education in cooperation with the World Bank and with the support of local governments. The main goal is to increase the comprehensiveness of children through the construction of new and extension of existing kindergartens. This project will cover 23 facilities in 22 local governments, which will provide a total of 11,000 new places for children. Within the project, special attention is paid to the quality of the preschool education system through the improvement of the knowledge and skills of professional staff. An important aspect of the program is the inclusion of children from the earliest age, especially those from socially sensitive groups. The total project worth is 47 million euros.

You can see the photos here.

By signing the contract with the Government of the Republic of Serbia on December 21, 2023, the construction of four new kindergartens was announced in Kragujevac, Cacak, Alibunar, and Pecinci in 2008. The contracts were signed by the Minister of Education, Dr. Slavica DJukic Dejanovic, the acting head of the City Administration for Development and Investments of Kragujevac, Dejan Ruzic, the deputy mayor of Cacak, Vladan Milic, the president of Alibunar municipality, Zorana Bratic, the president of Pecinci municipality, Sinisa DJokic, and representatives of contractors.

The construction of these four new kindergartens will provide a total of 690 new places for preschool-aged children, with a total investment value exceeding 510 million dinars.

The new kindergarten in the Kragujevac settlement of Erdec will provide 270 places for children, covering an area of 1,700 square meters, with an investment of about 200 million dinars.

For the new kindergarten in Cacak, over 110 million dinars have been allocated, providing 120 new places for children divided into six groups, covering an area of approximately 1,200 square meters.

In Alibunar, the construction of a new kindergarten will provide 220 new places for children, divided into 11 groups, with the facility covering about 1,450 square meters. The investment for this project is approximately 156 million dinars.

The extension of the existing facility in Pecinci will provide an additional 80 places for children divided into four groups, with the facility covering an area of about 560 square meters. The investment for this extension is valued at over 45 million dinars.

“By building new facilities and upgrading existing ones, the Ministry of Education continues to work towards fulfilling its strategic goal, which is the expansion of capacity and the improvement of the preschool education system at all levels.” With the signing of this agreement, we will provide 690 new places, and our ultimate goal is to offer 11,000 new places for children through the construction and adaptation of 23 kindergartens in 22 local governments, stated Minister of Education, Dr. Slavica DJukic Dejanovic. She also emphasized that these activities are part of the “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” project implemented by the Ministry of Education in cooperation with the World Bank and with the support of local governments.

Minister DJukic Dejanovic highlighted that inclusion is a crucial aspect of the project, with special funds allocated to improving the quality of the preschool education system. Training for employees of preschool institutions in Kragujevac, Cacak, and the municipalities of Alibunar and Pecinci is also provided.

Dejan Ruzic, Acting Mayor and head of the City Administration for Development and Investments of the City of Kragujevac, expressed delight at the news of the new kindergarten in Erdec, addressing the long-standing issue of insufficient capacity for children in preschool institutions in the city.

Vladan Milic, Deputy Mayor of Cacak, expressed gratitude to the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Ministry of Education for providing another kindergarten in a rural area, benefiting 15 local communities. He acknowledged the importance of the project for both children and parents and emphasized the effort made by the City of Cacak to ensure favorable conditions for the kindergarten’s construction.

Zorana Bratic, President of the Alibunar municipality, stated that the construction of a new kindergarten in Banatski Karlovac would resolve the long-standing problem of accommodation and residence for children in the area. She expressed gratitude to the government and the Ministry of Education for providing funds to improve the quality of services at the “Poletarac” Alibunar Preschool.

Sinisa DJokic, President of the Pecinci municipality, highlighted the municipality’s efforts to ensure sufficient kindergarten capacities in all 15 settlements, expressing thanks for the support from the Ministry of Education in addressing this important local issue.

The “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” program, encompassing the construction and adaptation of kindergartens, focuses on expanding capacity and enhancing the quality of preschool education. Special attention is given to the introduction of new program basics, improving the knowledge and skills of professional staff through mentoring support, and providing training for employees. The program emphasizes inclusion, particularly for children from socially vulnerable groups. The total value of the “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” project is 47 million euros.

You can see the photos here.