CONTRACTS SIGNED ON THE FINANCING AND CONSTRUCTION OF THREE NEW KINDERGARTEN IN ALEKSANDROVAC, ARANDJELOVAC AND PRIJEPOLJE

Contracts for the financing and construction of three new kindergartens in Aleksandrovac, Arandjelovac, and Prijepolje were signed today by the Minister of Education, Ph.D. Slavica DJukic Dejanovic, Mirko Mihajlovic, president of the temporary governing body of the Aleksandrovac municipality, Bojan Radovic, president of the Arandjelovac municipality, Drago Popadic, a member of the temporary governing body of the Prijepolje municipality, and representatives of the contractors.

The construction of these three new kindergartens will provide 500 new places for preschool children, with a total investment value exceeding 407 million dinars.

In Aleksandrovac, the new facility, with an investment of more than 179 million dinars, will cover an area of over 1,500 square meters, providing 180 new places for children. The construction of a new kindergarten in Prijepolje will offer 200 new places, occupying an area of more than 1300 square meters, with an investment value exceeding 142 million dinars. Meanwhile, the new facility in Arandjelovac will open its doors for 120 children. More than 86 million dinars will be invested in the construction of this building, and the area of the planned building is more than 800 square meters.

Minister of Education Ph.D. Slavica DJukic Dejanovic emphasized the Ministry’s commitment to improving the preschool education system.

“By expanding capacity, investing in improving quality and availability, as well as special activities related to the inclusion of children, especially those from socially sensitive groups, in the system of preschool education and care. By building three new facilities, we will create the conditions for receiving 500 more children, providing concrete support to the local government, and, above all, to parents and their children. We are investing in the youngest because we are investing in the future,” said the minister.

Dr. Mirko Mihajlovic, president of the temporary authority of the municipality of Aleksandrovac, stated that this is a great day for the municipality, solving the perennial problem of a lack of places for a large number of children in kindergarten.

Bojan Radovic, president of the municipality of Arandjelovac, mentioned that the signing of the agreement on financing and building a new “Sunce” kindergarten, with a capacity for more than a hundred children, will create space for additional child enrollment.

“The implementation of this project will solve the long-term issue of capacity and accommodation of children from the territory of the municipality of Arandjelovac, significantly improving the quality of services provided by Preschool Duga,” he said.

Drago Popadic, a member of the temporary governing body of the municipality of Prijepolje, noted that after almost four decades, the municipality will get a new kindergarten with 200 new places for preschool children.

“In addition to the complete abolition of the waiting list for all future generations, the construction of a new kindergarten will create the conditions for preschool education to take place in adequate conditions in all other facilities of PU “Misa Cvijovic” in Prijepolje, where children will enjoy learning and feel safe while acquiring new experiences, providing parents with peace of mind and security,” he said.

The “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” program, within which new kindergartens are being built—23 facilities in 22 local governments, providing 11,000 new places, pays special attention to improving preschool education and care through the introduction of new program basics, as well as enhancing the knowledge and skills of professional staff through mentoring support and training for more than 20 thousand educators. An important aspect of the program is the inclusion of children from the earliest age. The Ministry of Education, to encourage the partnership of preschool institutions and local institutions in the field of inclusive preschool upbringing and education, provided grants for 34 projects, worth one million and 800 thousand euros. These funds are intended to support families with small children, especially those from vulnerable social groups. The total value of the “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” project is 47 million euros.

You can see the photos here.