Head of the UNICEF Office for Croatia Valentina Otmacic warned that despite the average of 75% of children attending kindergarten, there are counties with less than 30% attendance. As an example, she underlined Vukovar-Srijem County (29%) and Brod-Posavina County (24%), as opposed to Zagreb, where 82.8% of children attend kindergarten between the ages of 3 and 6.
"The poorest counties are worst off, even though there are some exceptions, small places that have set pre-schools and education as a priority," Otmacic said. This is a matter of children's rights and so that issue cannot be something that depends on a mayor's will and the state is obliged to monitor whether these rights are being complied with.
Otmacic underscored that there is not one EU member state in which financing kindergartens is left to local government, which was the case in Croatia until recently.
"The fact that local authorities are the founders of kindergartens does not mean that the entire responsibility is on them. Until now, 99% of the funds for kindergartens were invested by local government and that is why there is such a big difference in accessibility to kindergartens," she said and added that all EU member states have a way to help those in a poorer position.
The EU's objective is for 95% of children to attend kindergarten by 2020 because kindergarten is where children are provided with the opportunity to develop their potential at the earliest age.
"Research has shown that later these children are more successful in solving tests, are of better health because they adopt habits at an earlier age and later don't need to see a doctor as often. Children, who have been worked with at the earliest age, are less likely to have behavioural problems," Otmacic underlined.
The Ministry for Demography, Family, Youth and Social Policy and Ministry of Agriculture presented their programmes for the state's involvement in financing kindergartens.
State secretary in the ministry for demography Margareta Madjeric said that, through programmes in the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Regional Development, agreements valued at HRK 890 million have been signed for the reconstruction, construction or upgrade of kindergartens and that her ministry has advertised two tenders aimed at improving standards and infrastructure in kindergartens as well as adapting working hours.