Kindergartens must not close their doors: Ombudsman finds that preschool institution has denied the right to education

The public preschool institution "Đina Vrbica" from Podgorica did not provide on-call staff for the Easter holidays, so members of other religions and atheists were prevented from exercising their right to education.

This is the conclusion of the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms, who recommended that the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation take measures and activities to ensure that public preschool educational institutions respect applicable legal regulations and perform their functions - educational work during the celebration of all religious holidays, as well as the rights of employees.

In the opinion, which is signed by the Deputy Protector Snezana Mijušković, writes that some media outlets reported that kindergartens in the capital did not organize a duty during the Easter celebrations, while some parents complained to officials of the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, who sent an initiative to the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and the administrations of preschool institutions to resolve the issue. The initiative, they say, states that the non-working holidays have created a major logistical problem for families who do not have the possibility of alternative care for their children.

"The Ombudsman observed from the investigation that the Public Educational Institution 'Đina Vrbica' in Podgorica did not ensure the exercise of its functions during the celebration of the Easter holidays - the Orthodox holiday of Easter, or Good Friday, 18. 4. 2025. and the second day of Easter, 21. 4. 2025. (the first day of Easter was celebrated on 20. 4. 2025. on Sunday, which is a non-working day), which it was obliged to do in accordance with Article 4 of the Law on the Celebration of Religious Holidays. In this way, children whose parents perform work tasks during religious holidays or those whose parents do not celebrate the aforementioned religious holiday for another reason (members of another religion, atheists, etc.) were prevented from exercising their right to education - staying in a preschool institution," the Ombudsman concludes.

The Protector also points out that the administration, in cooperation with parents, with whom educators are in direct contact on a daily basis, has the opportunity to discuss whether parents work during religious holidays, whether they intend to bring their children to the preschool institution and how many children will eventually attend.

In their statement to the Ombudsman, the Ministry of Education and Science pointed out that the Public Institution "Đina Vrbica" has not received a single official request from parents/guardians that it is necessary to ensure the operation of the institution during the period of celebrating a religious holiday.

Such an attitude, the Protector claims, is unacceptable and not in accordance with applicable regulations, bearing in mind that every institution is obliged to ensure the performance of the function for which it was established, and in this specific case, it is the performance of educational work, which is an activity of public interest.

"The statement in the statement that institutions do not keep records of employees based on their national or religious affiliation, and do not perform their functions at all during religious holidays, is inconsistent with each other. Every employee who wants to celebrate a holiday in accordance with applicable regulations should notify the employer of this, several days in advance. This way, the employer will have a record of who will not be on duty during a particular religious holiday. Therefore, it is not mandatory for an employee to declare their religious affiliation, but if they want to celebrate their religious holiday, they are obliged to notify their superior. In this way, if not all employees celebrate the holiday, the institution's management can ensure the performance of their functions," the opinion states.

The Protector also points out that the administration, in cooperation with parents, with whom educators are in direct contact on a daily basis, has the opportunity to discuss whether parents work during religious holidays, whether they intend to bring children to the preschool institution, and how many children will eventually attend.

"With adequate planning, the administration - management can predict how many educational groups need to be organized on-call. Also, the Ministry's response that the institutions believe that it is not good for children to change their environment and teacher does not justify the institutions in not complying with the regulations. This is especially because this would not be the first case of children changing their environment, because in certain months (January, August) they go to on-call kindergartens, and changing the classroom or teacher can also happen due to other circumstances (celebrating a holiday or some other justified absence of the teacher, or changing the classroom due to faulty installations, which has also happened)," emphasizes the Protector.

The Ombudsman concludes that, following regulations and practice, public preschool institutions do not operate during public holidays, but during religious holidays they are obliged to organize the work for which they were established.