In more than two-thirds of Montenegrin elementary schools, extended stays are not organized for first-year students, and this problem, as warned by the non-governmental sector, affects children, parents and the functioning of the entire family.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MPNI) told the MINA Agency that this school year extended stay was organized in 45 out of 163 elementary schools.
The organization of extended stay, as they said from that Government department, is a decade-long problem they are facing, primarily due to the lack of space.
The Ministry reminded that the organization of extended stays in public educational institutions depends on the expressed interest of parents and the possibilities of schools, stressing that they are continuously working to provide additional spatial capacities, both for regular classes and for extended stays.
In the non-governmental (NGO) sector, they agree that this is a problem that has existed for years.
The NGO sector said that they are aware of the lack of premises, but that it is necessary to find a sustainable solution in order to provide children with safe and quality time outside of regular classes, and to make it easier for parents to reconcile private and business obligations.
Kristina Mihailović from the Parents Association reminded that this NGO proposed the introduction of a legal obligation for schools to organize extended stays, as well as the organization of extended stays in premises that are in the immediate vicinity of the school.
"Many examples have shown that something can still be solved outside the school premises", said Mihailović, citing the example of Podgorica schools where, with the involvement of the local community and the NGO sector, it was possible to organize an extended stay in the premises near the school.
She reminded that the current organization, according to which primary education starts at the age of six, was introduced with an explanation and announced support through the existence of extended stays until the fourth grade, on the basis of which the Institute for Education created a program of extended stays that is still being worked on.
"However, our reality is usually not the way it is imagined on paper," said Mihailović, adding that, in the meantime, it has happened that most schools in the country do not have extended stays.
Speaking about the importance of this problem for children, parents and the entire family, she pointed out that, due to the impossibility of a six-year-old staying at home alone or going to school alone, parents often pay someone to look after the children, or opt for private stays.
As she pointed out, this is a big burden on the household budget.
Mihailović reminded that the working group for changes to the Law on Basic Education has started working and said that the Association of Parents will insist on the introduction of a legal obligation at least for some schools that have more students.
She added that even that will not be enough and that other models must be found to solve the problem.
"The story of harmonizing the working hours of parents and the working hours of educational institutions is science fiction for us," Mihailović said, adding that due to the current system, parents and children spend very little time together.
As she stated, the Montenegrin education system, among other things, is designed in such a way that it prevents children and parents from spending time together.
"And then tomorrow we wonder what the problem is within the family, and with the children's behavior," Mihailović said, emphasizing that these are things that directly affect relationships within the family.
In the Association of Parents, as she emphasized, they believe that it is necessary to include local administrations, which, together with schools and the relevant Ministry, could find premises that are close to schools and can be adapted for children's stay.
In NGOs dealing with the rights and position of women, they believe that education is one of the areas in which a gender perspective should be included, pointing out that due to the mismatch between working hours and the time that children spend in educational institutions, women are again the most vulnerable, because usually they are more they take care of children in a patriarchal society, like the Montenegrin one.
Anita Stijepčević from the Center for Women's Rights emphasized that gender balance begins with the shared work in the house, reminding that precisely these obligations stand in the way of women's employment and professional advancement.
"The absence of women from the labor market deepens the risk of poverty, not only for them, but also for those they care for, and it also negatively affects the gender distribution of care and caring jobs and the dynamics of family relationships," said Stijepčević.
According to her, in parallel with that comes the question of the alignment of schooling with work processes.
"Again, there is a particularly vulnerable group of women who take care of children on their own, who often live in a rented apartment and have insecure or unregulated working relationships," said Stijepčević.
She pointed out that in the existing solutions, extended stays last less than the regular eight-hour working hours.
As Stijepčević added, there are no state or local measures for all those cases when free stays are not available to them.
"Ensuring free, accessible and quality childcare is primarily important for the sake of the children themselves, and then for the entire society, which can only benefit if it provides optimal conditions for children's development," emphasized Stijepčević.
Speaking about the way in which the mismatch between the working hours of parents or guardians is reflected in the time children spend at school, Stijepčević reminded that in Montenegro, women are still the primary parents when it comes to taking care of children.
"Even in situations where children attend extended stays in schools, mothers or guardians are the ones who dominantly spend time with the children in order to fulfill all their school obligations," said Stijepčević.
As she added, the education system is tailored so that it requires great efforts outside of school, and does not teach children to do tasks independently.
Stijepčević assessed that because of this, a disproportionate burden for achieving all school obligations often falls on mothers or guardians, who are also dominantly burdened with other invisible chores around the household and caring for the elderly.
"The gender perspective must be integrated into all policies, especially economic and educational, in order to ensure an accurate insight into the needs of everyone in society and provide a chance for everyone," emphasized Stijepčević.
This, as she pointed out, includes further changes to the Labor Law, promoting a balance between private and business life, achieving gender parity in income and establishing accessible, flexible and high-quality childcare services.
"The next comprehensive education reform strategy must take into account the impact of educational policy on issues of gender equality, especially with the aim of overcoming rather rigid social roles intended for boys and girls, which reflect on their development, advancement, but also economic opportunities," said Stijepčević.
The Beran NGO "Polygon for Women's Excellence - Sofia" said that the problem with the absence of extended stays and their inconsistency with working hours is very pronounced in the north.
According to data from the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, extended stays are organized in 12 schools in Podgorica, five in Nikšić and four each in Rožaje and Kotor.
Three schools each have an extended stay in Herceg Novi, Bar and Pljevlja, two each in Danilovgrad and Zeta, while only one school each has an extended stay in Berane, Bijelo Polje, Cetinje, Kolašin, Mojkovac, Plužine and Ulcinj.
Andrijevica, Budva, Šavnik, Petnjica, Tuza, Gusinje, Tivat and Žabljak are not on the list of schools with extended stay, which the MPNI submitted to the MINA agency.
Rebeka Čilović from the NGO "Polygon for Women's Excellence - Sofia" said that the fact that schools in that city and other municipalities in the north generally do not have organized extended stays is another blow to women's autonomy and independence.
Speaking about how this problem affects women's independence, she reminded that women have eight-hour working hours, while children in the first, second, and even third grade of elementary school stay at school until 12 o'clock at the latest.
"Women were found to live in constant stress about whether they will, and they themselves know that they will not, maintain the same productivity at work, because their thoughts are directed towards providing some service (most often grandmothers and grandfathers) that for that day and eventually to take care of the children tomorrow", stated Čilović.
As she pointed out, the years are long and the options are getting fewer and fewer, so it happens that women leave their jobs and reluctantly agree to the role of housewives, while fathers, especially in the north, are less involved in childcare.
"Little by little, it's getting harder and harder for women to keep their jobs, not to mention their careers," said Čilović.
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