Smederevo’s primary and secondary schools are ready for the start of lessons in the new school year, and the Preschool Institution “Naša radost” is also ready for the start of its new school year, the Mayor of Smederevo, Jasmina Vojinović, announced at today’s press conference.
“We are particularly pleased that this September a new generation of first-year pupils will take their seats in the classroom, for whom the City has provided free textbooks, setting aside nearly RSD 10 million from the budget for this purpose.
We are even more pleased that this autumn we have 948 first-year pupils, 74 more than in the last school year.
Last year 945 pupils completed primary school in Smederevo, and this summer 920 pupils enrolled in secondary school. Compared with last year, when 892 pupils enrolled in the first year, that is 28 more.
Smederevo has 19 primary and 6 secondary schools, and the Music School “Kosta Manojlović” provides both primary and secondary education.
A great deal of work was done in school buildings during the summer holidays, and all the necessary works to refurbish and equip the schools were carried out so that we could provide pupils and teachers with adequate conditions for learning and work. We have already agreed that by 1 November all schools will draw up a new list of priority works and needs for next year.
Since the beginning of the year, the local government has spent around RSD 90 million on their capital and routine maintenance, because we are determined to change the image of Smederevo’s schools in the coming period, and we want them to be contemporary and modern.
The summer was marked by repair and refurbishment works on primary school buildings both in the city and in the villages, and the largest volume of work was at Primary School “Branislav Nušić”, where the ground-floor toilets were completely renovated and the windows of the skylights and the entrance were replaced. Part of the school was repainted, and the roof of the connecting corridor was also repaired.
Primary School “Branko Radičević” in Lugavčina completely refurbished 7 classrooms, the toilets and the sewerage network.
More extensive works were also carried out at Primary School “Sveti Sava”, where part of the internal installations was replaced and the outdoor lighting was reconstructed, and Primary School “Jovan Jovanović Zmaj” also solved this type of problem. Primary School “Dr Jovan Cvijić” shared the costs of installing and equipping a new kitchen with the Ministry of Justice.
The Music School “Kosta Manojlović” has extended its premises, and from this September lessons will no longer be held there on Saturdays. The Technical School has received new equipment for pupils’ practical training, the windows in 3 specialist classrooms have been replaced, and repairs to the water supply network and the installation of sanitary fittings in the biology classroom are planned.
By the start of the heating season, Primary School “Branislav Nušić” and three secondary schools, the Technical School, the Grammar School and the Economics and Trade School, will get new gas boiler rooms. This is a project financed by the Ministry of Education, worth around RSD 70 million.
“The Preschool Institution “Naša radost” is also ready for the start of the new school year. A total of 3,400 children are enrolled. Since the beginning of the year, RSD 17 million has been spent on works in the institution’s buildings and around RSD 7 million on purchasing furniture to improve the conditions for the children.
On Friday 30 August we will officially open the kindergarten in Drugovac, which will be able to take around a hundred children. The opening of the kindergarten in Skobalj will follow soon, as will the adaptation of the building next to it for nursery-age children. In Kolari, renovation of space within the school building for a kindergarten is starting. Works to replace the boiler room, windows and façade will soon begin in the building of the central “Hajdi” kindergarten in Smederevo,” the Mayor of Smederevo, Jasmina Vojinović, said, among other things, at the press conference, taking the opportunity to congratulate pupils, parents and staff of educational institutions and kindergartens on the start of the new school and preschool year.
