The “Rada Poceva” kindergarten in Kavadarci, which has a capacity of 560 children, for several years now has been accommodating twice as many children! This problem culminated four years ago, even though Mayor Aleksandar Panov announced the construction of a new kindergarten even back in his election program, a promise with which he won electoral votes from parents. However, as the citizen journalist who wished to remain anonymous informed us, even now, almost four years after the election promise was made, the “Rada Poceva” kindergarten has groups of up to 40 children, with only one educator and kindergarten teacher working with those children. Many children according to reactions of parents, have been put on the kindergarten’s waitlist for admission…
“With such a concentration in a small space, contagious diseases can be easily spread. If a child goes to kindergarten sick, with a stomach virus or with the flu, it is easily spread to other children. But, that is not the only problem. Children, in addition to games, need to also do other educational activities. But, with such a number, it is impossible. One educator and one teacher for a group of 40 children is just not enough! Their only task in this case is for them to just pay attention so that children do not get into a fight”, comment parents who have children in the kindergarten.
Instead of the problem being solved and the election promise realized, in the meanwhile, adaptation has been made on the memorial house in the village of Vatasa near Kavadarci. About fifty children are currently taken care of there, and another facility has also been completed in the kindergarten in the “Goce Delcev” primary school. But this only reduces the problem, and does not solve it.
A construction of a new kindergarten is again being promised ahead of these elections, which is to be within the premises of the Healthcare Center. As the municipality has announced, this facility is to accommodate about a hundred children. However, even if this promise were to be fulfilled, Kavadarci would still lack capacity for taking care of children.
The requests of the authorities of the “Rada Poceva” kindergarten addressed to the Municipality of Kavadarci, only confirm that the problem is objective and that the need for a new kindergarten is something that is necessary.
“Kindergarten, as a serious institution that takes care for education, proper growth and development of children, also takes care for their safety. Parents should not worry while their children are being taken care by us. With the increased interest from parents – for their children to be in kindergarten, while faced with the problem of the capacity of the facilities at our disposal, we are asking you, as a competent institution, to give us consent for the admission of an increased number of children, which would be admitted in our institution. However, we must, primarily, be guided by the safety aspect of our loved ones and stress the fact that the kindergarten takes care of children, whose percent exceeds one hundred percent of the kindergarten’s capacity”, states the written request that the kindergarten recently submitted to the Council of the Municipality, with the purpose of increasing the groups in the existing five facilities.
In August 2012, Mayor Aleksandar Panov, who was “spending” his first mandate, stated: “Regardless of the fact that the Municipality of Kavadarci is included in the Government Program for the construction of a new kindergarten, we cannot wait for this to happen in 2014-2015 and precisely because of this, the new tranche of the World bank credit will be used for construction of a new kindergarten. Together with the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy we plan to open kindergartens, even in the villages. However, this does not affect the city, as the greatest shortage of vacant places is precisely in Kavadarci. We will try to admit the children who are extra, but only if this is not a harm to the other children”, said Panov then.
In the campaign for local elections 2013, the kindergarten was the mayor’s greatest asset, but the promise has not been realized until today. Now, ahead of elections announced for December, new promises are coming for construction of a new kindergarten in Kavadarci.
“We have provided a location, for which we also have an urban plan. During this period, it was subjected to denationalization and being given back to its old owners. Now, we are again initiating a procedure for expropriation of that land. Once we finish with the expropriation procedure, which I hope will be early next year, we will have conditions to territorially satisfy this need, on more than 2 acres of space, in the urban communities of “Zadrugar” and “Sloga”, stated Panov these past few days, when with Minister Dime Spasov they were conducting insight into the construction works for the construction of a new kindergarten within the premises of the Healthcare Center. He did not miss the opportunity to mention that there “is interest for construction of a privately owned kindergarten”.
While promises are constantly given that a new kindergarten will be built in Kavadarci, there is growing concern among parents and accusations that the local authority is just promising projects, in order to win electoral points – but not to – actually solve the problems of the residents.
