President of the Republic of Srpska attends a solemn academy to mark the 70th anniversary of the oldest Banja Luka kindergarten “Ježeva kućica” and the Patron Saint Day of St. Nicholas

The President of the Republic of Srpska Željka Cvijanović attended a solemn academy in Banja Luka today to mark the 70th anniversary of the oldest Banja Luka kindergarten “Ježeva kućica” and the Patron Saint Day of St. Nicholas.

The President of the Republic of Srpska pointed out that the kindergarten “Ježeva kućica” in Banja Luka has been and has remained a second home for many generations of children from all parts of the city for the last seven decades and today there are 48 children staying there every day.

“It is my pleasure to be with you tonight and to mark such a significant anniversary, both of the oldest kindergarten in Banja Luka and the history of pre-school education in Banja Luka”, said the President Cvijanović at the ceremony held in the Cultural Centre Banski Dvor on the occasion of marking the 70th anniversary of the oldest Banja Luka kindergarten “Ježeva kućica” and the Patron Saint Day of St. Nicholas.

The President of the Republic recalled that this kindergarten was founded in 1949, and the first toddlers to stay in it were children of the employees of Tobacco Factory located in the immediate vicinity of the kindergarten.

“I am proud since the oldest kindergarten is celebrating its 70th birthday in a new edition, with a renovated roof, renovated facade and replaced carpentry, so that children will have much better conditions to stay in this preschool institution in the future”, said the President Cvijanović.

“Bearing in mind the importance of pre-school education for the development and upbringing of children of that age, the institutions of Srpska are firmly committed to ensuring that all children in Srpska have adequate conditions for placement in pre-school institutions through the joint efforts of the republic and local authorities”, said the President of the Republic.

“To this end, I would like to announce that two largest kindergartens in Banja Luka will be renovated next year with the support of the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction and Ecology through the project “Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings”. These are kindergartens “Naša djeca” which is located in the city centre and “Neven” located in Obilićevo, with a total of more than 500 youngest from Banja Luka. Funds amounting to 500 000 BAM have been provided for this purpose”, said the President Cvijanović.

The President of the Republic of Srpska added that for many years, the Office of the President of the Republic, independently or in cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Srpska, has been helping to build new or rehabilitating existing kindergartens across the Republic, to the satisfaction of toddlers, their parents, educators and other employees of the preschool institutions.

“There are currently 24 kindergartens within the Centre for Preschool Education in the region of Banja Luka, with more than 2,200 children. Our intention is to enlarge the existing capacities, but at the same time to build new ones, so that in the largest town of Srpska in the next few years there will be sufficient accommodation for all preschool children, but also to treat all our municipalities and cities in the same way”, it was stated by the President Cvijanović.

The President of the Republic of Srpska said that much has been done to date, and that there are two more kindergartens which are currently under construction in Banja Luka in Starčevica, as well as a three-purpose facility with kindergarten in Petrićevac funded by the Government of Serbia.

“Care for the youngest must be a permanent priority for the institutions of Srpska, the republican authorities as well as local communities. We must not let the big political issues and everyday problems we face in this field overshadow the most important goal and basic purpose of our political action, and that is our children who represent the future of the Republic of Srpska”, said the President of the Republic.

The President of Srpska highlighted that this is the significance of the Republic of Srpska Demographic Recovery Programme, which was launched not only to encourage birth and positive natural growth, but also to provide adequate conditions for family, parenthood, growth and development of children.

“In this process, preschool education plays a very important role and it is therefore crucial that we have appropriate kindergartens in Srpska, as well as professional staff to care for the youngest residents of the Republic of Srpska. This is an opportunity to thank all the employees who work tirelessly in our preschool institutions and for the contribution they make to the process of socialisation, education and upbringing of our youngest generations”, said the President Cvijanović.

The President of the Republic congratulated the 70th birthday to the kindergarten “Ježeva kućica”, to the children, parents and all employees, wishing many generations to be send-off from here.