New enrollment of children in kindergartens, old problems - insufficient space and teachers in the central region, but also in some coastal municipalities.
"Red zone", according to the Association's data, the parents are Podgorica, Budva, Bar, Ulcinj...
The problem is also recognized by the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MPNI):
"Although a step has been taken towards reducing capacity through the construction of new kindergartens, insufficient space is still one of the biggest challenges of public preschool institutions, especially in Podgorica and on the coast", stated Anđela Jakšić-Stojanović from the department.
They promise that the MPNI is actively working to improve the conditions of stay in kindergartens and to find solutions for expanding the capacity of overbooked preschool institutions, in order to create the conditions for the educational process to take place smoothly and with quality.
Katarina Carapić from the Association of Parents emphasizes that the problem of overbooking and inadequate capacity in public preschool institutions exists practically in all municipalities.
"Mainly due to insufficient spatial capacity, but also due to lack of staff. Thus, in the 'red zone' you have Podgorica, Budva, Bar, Ulcinj... where there is no physical place for children, but you also have a situation in Žabljak, where there would be space, there are no teachers to create more groups with an adequate number of children . This has been a pressing issue for decades, and it has become extremely complicated because we are too slow in solving the problem, especially of building and building additions," Čarapić told "Vijesti".
THE PROBLEM IS NOT FROM YESTERDAY
The long-standing problem of lack of space and staff in Montenegrin kindergartens was also recognized in the Education Sector Analysis for the period from 2015 to 2020, which was presented in 2022 by UNICEF and the then Ministry of Education.
"First, the size of the educational group does not depend exclusively on the (unavailability) of physical classroom space, but can also depend on the (unavailability) of teachers. Second, the capacity of the classroom also depends on its use. For example, in the case of half-day programs, it is possible to serve twice as many children (in different educational groups) using the same classroom. However, the available data on group sizes still offer some tentative insights into the existence of infrastructure in educational institutions," the analysis states.
They emphasize that "nevertheless, on average, educational groups remained too large. "Although both the enrollment rate and the capacity of institutions have increased, the average group size, at the national level, is still far above the prescribed national norm of 10 to 25 children, depending on the age structure of the group. This means that the additional capacity enabled additional enrollment, but that it was not used to reduce the average size of the group", it was specified in the document dealing with the situation in Montenegrin education.
It is also stated that the number of children in early and preschool education in the northern region is relatively small.
"Of the total number of children enrolled in public preschool institutions in 2020 (20.722), only 17 percent (3.531) lived in the northern region. However, three out of 13 municipalities (Plav, Berane and Petnjica) record averages that are above the absolute maximum norm of 25, while in seven municipalities the average per educational group is above the norm of 20. In the central region, the average size of educational groups in the majority municipality above the maximum norm. The situation is most difficult in Podgorica, where there have been certain trends regarding the reduction of groups, probably due to the smaller number of enrolled children due to the covid-19 pandemic. The influence of the values that characterize the central region on the national average is great considering that the majority of children enrolled in public preschool institutions live in the central region (55 percent)," the analysis states.
In the southern region, it was warned, the average size of groups in all municipalities is very close to, or above the absolute maximum in terms of the norm - 25 children. 28 percent of the total number of children who attended public preschools in 2020 live in that region.
"You won't believe it, but it used to be that there were up to 82 people enrolled in the group. Often there are over 50 of them. These are impossible situations, not that it is not in accordance with the Law on Preschool Education and Upbringing, but it is too far from it. According to the law, the maximum number of children in the group can be 25, and the nursery school can be up to 12", said Čarapić in a statement to "Vijesta".
According to her, no one can remember if this framework was ever respected.
A QUARTER OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF CHILDREN IN THE PODGORICA KINDERGARTEN
Podgorica state preschool institution "Đina Vrbica" is attended by a quarter of children from the total number of children in Montenegrin kindergartens.
"The 'Đina Vrbica' institution is the largest and most numerous preschool institution in Montenegro, within which in the school year 2024/25. 18 educational units will function. Almost a quarter of the total number of enrolled children from the territory of Montenegro attend our institution. Therefore, for years, the institution has been facing the problem of overloading of spatial capacities, which is particularly evident in the area of the local communities of Stari aerodrome, Zabjelo, Zagorič", told "Vijesta" from that institution, which is headed by Bojana Razić.
They point out that, in order to solve the problem of excessive pressure on the existing spatial capacities, in the past period they "made great efforts to neutralize it or make it as less pronounced as possible, addressing the competent state and spatial instances, and searching for adequate spaces that could outgrow after adaptation adapted spaces in children and educational work".
"As a result of our enormous efforts, from September 2024 we will become richer for another educational unit that will be opened in the area of the Local Community of Ljubović, in the immediate vicinity of the already existing educational unit 'Ljubović 1'. In the newly formed educational unit 'Ljubović 2', which will have three work rooms, three educational groups of children of nursery age (up to three years old), namely a younger nursery, a middle nursery and an older nursery group, will stay," the institution states.
They remind that the enrollment of children for the school year 2024/25. year began on May 23, and, by the decision of the Ministry, it is planned to last until June 15.
"The procedure is identical to previous years. In order to avoid crowds, parents of children who are enrolled in our institution for the first time or who were enrolled during the 2023/2024 school year. year, they will be able to submit an application for enrollment electronically at the web address www.upisi.edu.me. It is enough just to enter the child's unique identification number, after which the necessary data is automatically generated by the system. Parents who have complications when completing e-registration will be able to do so at one of the three counters that function within our institution", they specified.
They emphasize that children who attended preschool education and education programs the previous year will be considered enrolled for the 2024/25 school year. year from the moment they sign the agreement on mutual rights and obligations with the institution.
"As in previous years, all children for whom an application is submitted will be enrolled, which is in accordance with the recommendations and instructions of the relevant ministry. Care will be taken to ensure that the space is overbooked, so the enrollment of newly registered children in the older kindergarten groups in the 'Dragan Radulović' and 'Mali Princ' units will be suspended," they said.
And when we have money, we are very slow
Čarapić states that it is certain that since the Association of Parents has been dealing with the issue of the capacity of Montenegrin kindergartens, and that has been since the creation of the organization, the situation has only become more complex.
"That's why we've been dealing with this topic from day one and we're asking for quality conditions to be provided for the children's stay in kindergartens. I will remind you that back in 2012 we launched a petition and asked the Government to urgently build or upgrade kindergartens. They accepted it and borrowed 10 million euros to build seven new kindergartens. Of those seven, two have not even started to be built yet. So even when we have money, we are very slow," she said.
In Budva, without improvement since 2017
The assistant director of the Budva kindergarten "Ljubica V. Jovanović - Maše" Irena Tomović told "Vijesta" that the institution cannot yet predict the number of newly enrolled children for the next school year.
"However, analyzing the enrollment results from previous years, we expect a slight increase in enrolled children. In previous years, all children whose parents applied for enrollment were enrolled. We assume that it will be the same for the next school year, with a note that consent to the excess number of enrolled children is given by the competent ministry," specified Tomović.
According to her words, 1.541 children were enrolled in the institution this school year.
"The capacities of kindergartens have remained unchanged since 2017, regardless of the increase in the number of children from year to year. So, five buildings, three of which are in the city center. Our biggest problem, which we have been facing for many years, is the lack of spatial capacity to receive such a large number of children. The educational unit in which we constantly record the highest overcrowding is the educational unit 'Novi vrtić' in Potkošljun. Attendance is slightly lower in other facilities in the city center, but certainly much higher than the recommended standards by age. "Only with great effort and engagement of our teaching and non-teaching staff, educational work takes place smoothly and with high quality," said Tomović.
Bar: They expect more children from September due to the influx of foreigners
Enrollment of children for the 2024/25 school year. year in the preschool institution "Vukosava Ivanović Mašanović" in Bar, started a week ago and will last until the end of June, and they expect a larger number of students enrolled in the institution due to the influx of foreign citizens.
As the institution told "Vijesta", parents and guardians of children who are enrolling for the first time or who were withdrawn from preschool during the previous school year, submit an application for enrollment through the portal electronically. Children who attended preschool education programs in the previous school year are considered enrolled in the new school year.
As they stated, this enrollment season they are also facing problems that have followed them for many years.
"The problem of insufficient spatial capacity has been burdening the functioning of our preschool institution for many years. In the previous period, due to the increased number of registered children, we opened new educational units with five nurseries, one mixed and one preschool educational group. We believe that the announced construction of a new kindergarten in Bar will significantly facilitate the implementation of educational work in our institution", they said.
During the first week of electronic registration, they received 401 applications. On the other hand, the number of preschoolers who finish their stay in their preschool institution and start school from September is 454.
"Taking into account that registration lasts another 15 days, we expect that the total number of children in the new school year will be higher than in the previous one," they concluded.
The example of "Vukosava Ivanović Mašanović" from Bar confirms the great interest of foreigners in enrolling their children in public preschool institutions. As they told "Vijesta" in the 2023/2024 school year, they had 145 children enrolled from abroad. According to them, these are mostly citizens of Russia, Ukraine and Turkey who reside in the territory of the municipality of Bar.
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