As part of a nationwide program to improve access to pre-primary education in the Slovak Republic, the kindergarten in Kurov was given a makeover, doubling its capacity. This is of particular benefit for the local Romani, who often face social exclusion and discrimination.
Expanding the kindergarten in Kurov, Slovakia for greater social inclusion of minorities
- 23 July 2020
Investments and activities to ensure success are an integral part of policies on human capital development, infrastructure, employment, especially for children from low-income families and ethnic minorities such as the Roma communities, where centralised, state-funded education programs are limited. Reconstruction of the kindergarten in the village of Kurov has created capacity for another 20 children, including 17 children from its Roma community.
Until recently, the kindergarten in Kurov, a town in the Prešov region in north-eastern Slovakia, had places for 20 children. With the help of the European Regional Development Fund, the kindergarten was extended and now provides pre-primary education and care for 40 children from the town and its surrounds.
In doing so, the project has helped address the region’s ongoing problem of insufficient capacity for pre-primary education, due to an increasing number of children. To kill two birds with one stone, renovations were carried out to reduce the kindergarten’s environmental impact.
Expanding and modernising the existing building
A new, single-storey building was constructed as an extension to the existing kindergarten, expanding the original surface of 179.6 m2 with an additional 127.6 m2.
The exterior was coated with thermal insulation to increase its energy efficiency rating. The new building has a basement and boiler room, with a new boiler and central heating distribution system. The new system is expected to decrease the building’s annual energy consumption by nearly 10 000 kWh. The amount of annual greenhouse gas emissions is expected to decrease substantially.
Pre-primary education for all children
The project set out to expand access to pre-primary education for the region’s children, especially those living in the town’s segregated Roma community. The goal was to ensure that at least 30 % of the kindergarten’s new places would be occupied by local Romani children. At present, 17 Roma are enrolled in the kindergarten.
To improve the social inclusion of the Romani in Slovakia, projects such as the expansion of the kindergarten in Kurov are taking place nationwide.
As practice has shown, every Roma child who has attended preschool has greater chances of advancing into, and doing well in, later stages of learning. In addition, the children’s parents have shown interest in their learning progress, which improves their chances of getting a good education.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Extension of kindergarten in Kurov” is EUR 178 000, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 151 300 through the “Human Resources” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Technical facilities in municipalities with high share of marginalised Roma communities”.