More than half of children in Bar who are in the mandatory group - those aged 12 months and over - have not received their first dose of the MMR vaccine, while only about a third of those enrolled attended state kindergartens in the first days of September. Although kindergartens say that the low attendance is not only a consequence of the new rules on mandatory immunization, parents claim that some children end up in private "daycare centers", playrooms and unlicensed kindergartens, where vaccination status is not checked, and the Ministry of Education says that such entities are not under their jurisdiction.
From the Ministry of Health, which he leads Vojislav Šimun, "Vijesti" was told that according to data from the electronic registry, which refers to children born from 2020 to March 10, 2025, that is, children who are old enough to be vaccinated, the coverage of the BCG vaccine in Bar is 74,9 percent, the coverage of three doses of the DTP vaccine is 74,3 percent, while the coverage of the first dose of the MMR vaccine is 46,7 percent. 653 children did not receive the third dose of the DTP vaccine, while 1.354 children did not receive the first dose of the MMR vaccine.
"The data indicate that the largest vaccination gap is present with MMR vaccination, as more than half of the children in the analyzed target cohort did not receive the first dose of this vaccine," they told the newspaper.
The Constitutional Court has scheduled a public hearing for today in the procedure for assessing the constitutionality of the legal solution that prescribes vaccination as a condition for children to attend public and private preschool institutions.
It is not a requirement for enrollment, but it is a requirement for residence.
Several parents contacted the editorial office during the first two weeks of September, claiming that the public preschool institution "Vukosava Ivanović Mašnović" in that coastal town had admitted a large number of unvaccinated children who were unable to attend kindergarten, and that the kindergartens were half-empty. They sent comments regarding the "relocation" of children to private playrooms, daycare centers, and unlicensed kindergartens in which children and parents do not undergo any vaccination checks.
Director of the Public Service Institution “Vukosava Ivanović Mašanović” Bar Ivana Milenković told the editorial office that the procedure for enrolling children for the 2026/2027 school year was carried out within the framework of a unified procedure for enrolling in preschool institutions. The competition for enrollment lasted from May 23 to June 15 of this year, within the deadlines set by the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MESI). The signing of the contract on mutual rights and obligations in that kindergarten was carried out from August 19 to 24, 2026.
"We would like to emphasize that the child's vaccination status was not a condition for ranking children or a criterion for deciding which child would be signed with a contract. The only basis for admitting a child to a preschool institution was a timely application for enrollment and the child's age," she emphasized, responding to claims made by some parents to the editorial office that the preschool institution signs contracts with parents of unvaccinated children, as opposed to those who are well-vaccinated.
Milenković says that it is important to clearly distinguish between the registration and conclusion of the contract from the actual stay of the child in the preschool institution - the Law on the Protection of the Population from Infectious Diseases ("Official Gazette of Montenegro", No. 2/2026), in Article 42, stipulates that mandatory vaccination is a condition for children to stay in public and private preschool institutions, except in the case of a permanent medical contraindication for a particular immunization. A certificate of mandatory vaccination can only be issued by a selected pediatrician for children of the competent health center.
The kindergarten, the director emphasizes, does not and cannot have the authority to independently interpret health documentation or assess the medical justification for delays in implementing immunization, but acts exclusively according to the content of the certificate of the selected pediatrician and official instructions from the competent state authorities. If the certificate states that the vaccination status is not in order, she added, its content must clearly indicate whether there is a medically justified reason for the delay in implementing immunization.
In the 2026/2027 school year, applications for enrollment at the JPU "Vukosava Ivanović Mašanović" Bar were submitted for 1.684 children, while 1.476 contracts were concluded, and Milenković assesses that "this data cannot in any way be interpreted as the result of the selection of children according to vaccination status."
When it comes to children born in 2025, she specified that there are 25 children on the waiting list who will not be one year old by the beginning of the working year, and the Law on Preschool Education stipulates that kindergartens can enroll children up to one year old if there are spatial and technical conditions for this.
"During the first three days of September, a negligible number of cases were recorded in which a child could not start attending a preschool institution until the parents supplemented or further clarified the certificate of vaccination status. In such situations, parents were referred exclusively to the chosen pediatrician, because the employees of the Institution are not authorized to interpret medical documentation or to assess whether a certain deviation in immunization is medically justified," said Milenković.
The fact that the number of such cases is very low was significantly contributed by the prior information of parents, she added, and stated that before the start of the working year, the educators held parent meetings, at which parents, guardians and foster parents were informed in detail about the documentation that needs to be provided before the child arrives at the Institution, the procedure for admission, as well as the importance of cooperation with the Institution, so that all children with proper and clear documentation could stay in the institution without any hindrance.
The number is not a picture of vaccination
On the first day of September, 528 children were in the educational units of the Bar state kindergarten, on the second day 593 children, and on the third day 615 children, which indicates an increase in the number of children present.
Milenković indicated that the data on the number of children in the facilities at a given moment cannot be equated with the available capacities because the beginning of September is a period of adaptation, especially in newly formed nursery and kindergarten groups.
"During that period, children arrive gradually, and a large number of them, in accordance with professional assessment and agreement with parents, stay for a shorter period than they will after the end of the adaptation period. Therefore, an observer who is not familiar with the organization of the work of a preschool institution may get the wrong impression that certain facilities or groups are 'half-empty', or that there are additional free capacities. The number of children found in a facility at one time is not an indicator of the number of enrolled children nor a reflection of the available capacity of educational groups," she assessed.
The biggest challenge in implementing the new rules, as Milenković told "Vijesti", is the need to ensure uniform and completely clear action by all participants - health institutions, parents and preschool institutions - in a very short period of time.
The Public Prosecutor's Office "Vukosava Ivanović Mašanović" Bar acts exclusively within its jurisdiction and according to the instructions of the competent state authorities, she said, and communicates with parents on a daily basis and considers each specific case with special attention.
They consider parents' comments as a team, aware of the fact that the kindergarten cannot assume the responsibilities of health authorities or deviate from binding regulations and official instructions, and especially emphasize the good cooperation with the president of the Parents' Council, with whom they are in continuous contact, as well as the fact that all relevant information is transmitted to parents in a timely manner through parent meetings, Viber groups, social networks, local portals and other available communication channels.
"The goal of the institution is not to exclude any child, but to apply regulations equally to all users, protect the health of children, and ensure the safe and legal functioning of the institution," concluded Milenković.
Playrooms, babysitting rooms
"Vijesti" spoke to several parents from Bar whose children, instead of attending state kindergartens, attend private "nursery schools", daycare centers and "schools", as well as kindergartens that they know operate "wildly", where they stay for one to eight hours. They explained that they opted for this option due to greater safety, "better service", but also the fact that they have not yet made a decision regarding MMR vaccination.
One parent said that his child attends a so-called “development daycare,” which he has been attending since the age of two. According to him, they planned to enroll their child in a state kindergarten from the age of three, but they gave up on that due to “newly imposed mandatory vaccination rules.”
Another claims that they chose an unlicensed private kindergarten because their child is one year and one month old and has not yet developed speech, so they will wait to vaccinate with the MMR vaccine until he can speak because they are suspicious of side effects.
The services of these companies, which provide services, among other things, kindergartens, according to the editorial office, cost from 120 to 300 euros per month, depending on the "package" and the length of the child's stay. Since January of this year, the Municipality of Bar has been subsidizing the stay and food of children in kindergartens in that city by up to 50 euros, so the state kindergarten is free, while the two licensed private ones are cheaper by the same amount.
From the Ministry of National Defense, led by the Minister Anđela Jakšić Stojanović They told the editorial staff that education and upbringing is provided exclusively in clearly defined institutions: preschool, school, educational center, resource center, adult education organizers, and student dormitories.
"These institutions are established as public or private institutions, in accordance with the law. Given that the so-called educational schools and workshops are not included in the categories listed in Article 3 of the General Law on Education, their establishment and operation are not within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation," the Ministry of Education stated.
Thus, they are not considered educational institutions within the meaning of this law, but in the legal sense they are business entities that perform service activities (or similar forms), so their status is most often defined by the Law on Business Companies, and their activities are registered with the Tax Administration/Central Register of Business Entities (CRPS).
"Supervision of their general operations and the safety of children is not within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, that is, the Education Inspection," they said, explaining that this is because the Law on Education Inspection stipulates that inspection supervision regarding compliance with laws, other regulations and general acts in institutions in the areas of: preschool education, primary education, secondary general education, vocational education, higher education and science, education and training of persons with special needs, adult education and student standards is carried out by the ministry responsible for education and science.
In the case of entities registered as limited liability companies (LLCs), the Ministry of Education and Science said that these are not public or private educational institutions, but rather companies, thus "excluding the possibility of further inspection by the education inspectorate and possible measures and actions within its jurisdiction, despite the fact that the aforementioned entities carry out a type of work with children."
Casinos don't need a license
When it comes to various forms of working with children under the code of economic activity, such as playrooms, birthday parties, childcare, various forms of children's entertainment..., the Ministry of Education told the editorial staff that there is no requirement for the start of work to be conditioned by a previously obtained permit to perform the activity, because there is no special regulation that provides for this.
The Ministry maintains a register of licensed private preschool institutions in the territory of Montenegro, and there are currently two licensed private preschool institutions in the Bar area.
Licensing a private preschool institution involves fulfilling a number of legally prescribed conditions that relate, among other things, to the founding act, work program, professional staff, space, equipment, hygienic and technical conditions, and other standards.
"It is important to emphasize that the Ministry cannot issue a license to an entity that does not meet the prescribed conditions, nor can the fact that a certain facility provides childcare services be considered evidence that it is a private preschool institution," they concluded.
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