The future Law on preschool education will tighten the criteria for establishing private kindergartens, which will stop the practice of playhouses and other LLCs providing these services, said Vesna Pejović, advisor for preschool education at the Ministry of Education.
She told "Vijesta" that during the work on the changes, the emphasis was placed on the safety of children and, systematically, early learning and on the improvement of preschool education and education services.
"The educational inspection found that there is a certain number of legal entities that call themselves kindergartens. That is why our priority was to additionally regulate the functioning of preschool institutions. Namely, it will not be possible for other legal entities - limited liability companies - to carry out this activity without being licensed as preschool institutions", said Pejović. Kindergartens will also receive specialized programs according to the spheres of interest of the child - music, drama, art, culture, sports, recreation, entertainment. Also, they will get the opportunity to earn extra money, and at the same time help working parents.
"A special novelty is represented by 'other programs' during which the institution can, in accordance with space and personnel capabilities, organize a paid program of stay, animation and babysitting. This will make it easier for parents to entrust their child to professional staff in certain situations for care or during a birthday celebration. By opening the possibility for preschool institutions to organize other programs such as birthdays, workshops, babysitting, etc. it would be more efficient to put the existing capacities into operation, and use the obtained funds to improve the work of the kindergarten", assessed Pejović.
She reminds that with the proposed legal changes, pre-school education institutions are obliged to offer an English language program to children from the age of three until they start school.
"Learning foreign languages in preschool age has numerous advantages. Research shows that the first six years of a child's life are crucial in language development, so their learning should not be delayed. The basis of the language is created around the age of three, and as soon as the child has mastered the mother tongue, he is ready to learn another language. It has been proven that exposure to languages does not pose a difficulty for children and that they have the ability to separate and learn both languages," explains Pejović.
She notes that knowledge of English is necessary in a time of rapid changes, especially in the field of information and communication technologies: "That's why the study of this language in preschool education and education gains importance, and creates early foundations for full mastery of it." He adds that until now, not all kindergartens have offered an English language program. "The duration of the program is twice a week for 30 minutes. English language teachers will be hired to implement the program. Additional training is planned for that teaching staff, in order for them to adapt to a certain age group", added Pejović.
Most schools supported the proposal to introduce uniforms
The majority of elementary schools sent the Ministry of Education a statement regarding the introduction of school uniforms, and the majority of those who expressed support for that proposal, the Ministry announced.
The spokeswoman of that department, Milica Lekić, said that after receiving the opinions of all the schools, the next steps will be defined in terms of the appearance of the uniforms and the procurement procedure.
"The above will also depend on the suggestions of experts, as well as the evaluations of parents and associations that deal with the issue," Lekić stated in her statement.
She reminded that the goal of introducing uniforms in elementary schools is to reduce social differences and create a sense of community, while at the same time enabling children to express their individuality, as far as the concept of the educational institution allows.
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