The Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, Brankica Janković, sent recommendations to all preschool institutions in Serbia for measures related to the enrollment of children and attending these institutions aimed at improving the equality of all children, regardless of any of their or their parents’ personal characteristics. The recommendation indicated that for a child, once enrolled, there should be no requirement for re-enrollment in the same institution every subsequent year because there is no reasonable justification for imposing such an additional obligation on the parents thus creating legal and life uncertainty.
When a preschool institution enrolls a child once and concludes a contract with parents or legal representatives, there is no justification for repeating the unnecessary enrollment procedure as long as the child attends the institution and the parents pay their obligations. Starting from the well-being and best interests of the child, applying this recommendation would contribute to realizing the right to education in continuity, without discrimination, in an environment to which the child has already adapted, says Brankica Janković.
Also, preschool institutions were recommended to change the enrollment form so that when registering the child for enrollment, the parent could indicate that the child has a rare neurotransmitter or chronic non-communicable disease, such as diabetes, which, unfortunately, is an increasingly common disease. This would mean that the institution already, at the moment of application, has information about the needs of the children, the type of therapy, and the way in which the therapy is administered, as well as time to prepare capacities for the necessary support. Institutions are also recommended to improve and adapt internal rules so that these children participate equally in all activities, with the administering of the necessary therapy, during their stay in the institution.
In addition to the Commissioner’s practice, these problems were also pointed out by the Association for Combating Diabetes “Blue Circle” and the Association “Hrabriša”.
Inclusion of children with health problems requires a dedicated effort at all levels – family, educational institutions, and the entire social community. All children have the right to grow up in an environment that stimulates their psychomotor development and prepares them for going to school, and in this sense, the availability of preschool upbringing and education without discrimination on any basis is of key importance for the overall development and well-being of every child, which actually are the basic principles of our education system, concludes Janković.
