Zagreb Kindergartens Have 1,250 Vacancies
The City has published a detailed breakdown of available capacities and launched a digital page for easy enrollment tracking.
The City has published a detailed breakdown of available capacities and launched a digital page for easy enrollment tracking.
There are currently 1,250 available spots in Zagreb's kindergartens, the City of Zagreb announced on Tuesday. The numbers are better than expected, and parents now have access to a new digital page where vacancy data is updated on a monthly basis.
Of the total number, 234 nursery and 577 kindergarten spots are available in municipal kindergartens. Private kindergartens offer 208 nursery and 165 kindergarten spots, while licensed childminders have 66 vacancies.
A few years ago, the situation was significantly more complex. After the abolition of the parent-educator measure, there was a surge in applications, and capacities were insufficient, leaving more than 3,000 children without a kindergarten place.
The City Administration states that they are continuously working on expanding capacities. Of the 28 planned kindergarten projects, 17 have already been completed, while the rest are in various stages of preparation and construction. By the end of this year, three new kindergartens will open in the neighborhoods of Borovje, Stenjevec, and Remetinec.
"We remind you that enrollment in municipal kindergartens takes place throughout the entire pedagogical year. Parents can submit an application at any time, and if the kindergarten has a vacancy and the child meets the enrollment requirements, enrollment will be possible," the City of Zagreb stated for Večernji list.
Enrollment applications are submitted online, and the entire process is fully digitalized. Integration with state and public registries allows for the retrieval of all key data without additional paperwork. To access the system, parents identify themselves using a NIAS credential with a significant or high level of assurance.
The preschool education system of the City of Zagreb currently includes nearly 37,500 children. Of that number, approximately 32,600 children are in municipal kindergartens, 4,200 in private and religious institutions, and about 500 in licensed childminder services. The City of Zagreb is the founder of 61 kindergartens, spread across 245 locations, and additionally, there are 64 private and religious kindergartens and about 50 licensed childminder services operating in the city, all funded from the city budget.
In most kindergartens, the standard educational program starts between 7 and 8 a.m. and ends between 3 and 4 p.m. For additional flexibility for parents, supervision is also organized before and after these hours.
