THE NEW KINDERGARTEN OPENED IN SID

In the presence of the Minister of Education, Ph.D. Slavica DJukic Dejanovic, the head of the World Bank office in Serbia, Nikola Pontara, and the president of the municipality of Sid, Zoran Semenovic, the newly built kindergarten in Sid was officially opened today. The new facility, whose construction cost 131 million dinars and covers an area of about 1,100 square meters, will be able to accommodate 140 new children, who will be divided into seven educational groups. The kindergarten was built on schedule, in just 12 months.

6 million dinars were set aside for equipping the new “Roda” kindergarten with didactic materials and furniture, and van transportation was organized for all children from the territory of the municipality of Sid who live in rural and rural areas.

Today we are opening a new kindergarten for another 140 children. It will be the fourth facility of this institution in the city area, which together with kindergartens in 17 rural areas will form a network of preschool institutions that open their doors to the children of this local government. The goal of the Ministry of Education is to increase the coverage of children in preschool upbringing and education, not only through the construction and increase of capacities, but also through training and raising the competencies of employees. In this way, we nurture educational forms and children of this time so that they are prepared and equipped for the future, which we will be particularly proud of. There is no better goal than investing in children. That’s why, with the support of the World Bank, we are building and upgrading kindergartens and thereby providing another 11,000 new places for children throughout Serbia,” said the Minister of Education.

Nikola Pontara, director of the World Bank Office in Serbia, pointed out that we are particularly proud to open the new Roda kindergarten in Sid.

“This is one of the successful examples of cooperation between the World Bank and the Ministry of Education of Serbia within the Project of Inclusive Preschool Education. We are delighted that the children will be able to spend their school days in pleasant conditions and make the most of their learning experiences. Investing in early childhood development and education is one of the smartest things a country can do. Attending preschool has lifelong benefits for children – it lays a strong foundation for their intellectual, social, emotional and physical development. Children who attend preschool perform better academically, enjoy higher lifetime incomes, and are less likely to exhibit behavioral problems. Quality early childhood education is also a very powerful tool to fight poverty and inequality and to build human capital for the future,” said Pontara.

“The newly built facility of Preschool “Jelica Stanivukovic Silja” of over 1,000 square meters intended for 140 children who will stay there, is one of the most important projects that, with the support of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Ministry of Education, we have realized in the past period, not only the value of the completed works of over 130 million dinars, but also for the importance that the existence of such an object has for parents of preschool children. They will now be able to carefree leave their little ones in the care and education of professionals and devote themselves to their duties and work, and the other objects of the preschool institution will, after a long time, be relieved. This is a big day for the municipality of Sid and its citizens,” said Zoran Semenovic, president of the municipality of Sid.

The construction of the new facility in Sid, which began in September 2022, is part of the broader cooperation between the Ministry of Education and the World Bank, which is implemented as part of the “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” program. This project is dedicated to increasing the capacity of preschool institutions across Serbia by 11,000 new places, as well as improving preschool education and care through the introduction of the New Fundamentals program and through the education of professional staff and mentoring support and training for educators. An important aspect of the program is the inclusion of children from the earliest age. This project includes 23 buildings, and the value of the investment is 47 million euros.

You can see the photos here.