Parents who have no one to leave their children with during the summer vacation can opt for kindergartens and summer schools. Registration will start in a few days, which is why those who have not prepared their file should do so urgently. The reason? In general, places are filled in order of submission of files.
The battle for places at summer kindergartens begins. Photo source: archive
Enrollment in the “Summer Kindergarten” program will begin on June 10, although many educational units have already stolen the start. It is about the kindergartens in sector 3 of the Capital, where parents started to submit the files since the first days of May. The reason? After last year's scandal, when hundreds of people made white nights in front of the gates to get a seat, the local authorities decided to simplify the procedure. Thus, an online platform was made available to parents that they can access from anywhere.
But what parents need to know is that the registration procedure is done according to certain well-established criteria that cannot be violated. First of all, in Bucharest, for example, only children who attended a kindergarten in that sector can be enrolled.
Then, children who attended the summer kindergarten classes last year also have priority for registration. Therefore, as far as they are concerned, we can talk about a re-registration, which will take place for 4 days, between June 10-14. New registration applications are submitted starting June 17. However, parents only have 24 hours to do so. In this case, priority is given to single-parent families and those in which both parents work. After this stage, applications are processed, and at the beginning of July the results and the number of remaining places will be displayed. A new round of registration will be held between July 8 and 15, where things have not been taken care of.
How will the summer kindergartens in sector 6 work
In sector 6 of the Capital, 12 summer kindergartens will be opened, which will provide 3,700 places. These educational units will operate, some, only in July, others – only in August and others – in both months. “The educational units were selected according to the requests of the parents, the staff and available spaces, the history of the previous years“, the representatives of the mayor's office sent in a statement. Among the kindergartens that entered the program are Prichindel Kindergarten, Albina Kindergarten, Zâna Florilor, Kindergartens 256, 272, as well as educational unit 274. As for the children's program, it will be from Monday to Friday, between 7.30 and 17.30.
Parents who wish to enroll their children in summer kindergartens in sector 6 must present several documents: a certificate issued by the kindergarten the child attended in the 2023-2024 school year, the child's birth certificate, his medical file , the application for registration, the identity cards of the parents or the employment certificates of both parents, a copy of the court decision by which the rights of the parents and the child are regulated (where applicable).
“Kindergarten from the big holiday”, in sector 2
In sector 2 of the Capital, 11 summer kindergartens and one nursery school will operate, local authorities announce. The project “Kindergarten from the big vacation” will take place in July and/or August in: Kindergarten no. 23 + nursery school, Kindergarten no. 135, Kindergarten no. 137, Kindergarten no. 233, Kindergarten no. 138, Kindergarten no. 276, Albinuţa Kindergarten, Steluţa Kindergarten, Luminiţa Kindergarten, Alice Kindergarten, Ciobănaşul Kindergarten”, state the authorities.
Enrollment will only take place in person, at the educational unit for which one opts, within the limits of available places and in the order in which requests are submitted. Here, too, children enrolled in the respective educational unit in the 2023-2024 school year have priority. In the event that the number of requests for an educational unit exceeds the number of places allocated, the parent will be redirected to the nearest educational unit that still has available places, announced the representatives of the town hall.
How to register online
Registrations for summer kindergartens in sector 3 of Bucharest are done online, on the institution's website, at scoaladevara.primarie3.ro. Once on this page, parents must fill in an application with the child's, mother's and father's identification data, choose the period in which they want to bring their little one to kindergarten and, last but not least, upload the documents necessary. The whole process only takes two or three minutes, if all the documents are in order. The next step: the parent clicks a button and submits the application.
Last year, however, things were not simple at all. During the registration period, parents who live in the third sector stood in line in front of the schools overnight to submit the files. Frustrated by the situation, tired and with their nerves stretched to the maximum, the parents gave in, and from here to the outbreak of scandals was only one step. The city hall said then that the method of registration with a physical file was established by the Bucharest School Inspectorate. Finally, all students enrolled in the “School after school” program were accepted into the program at Secondary School no. 51. Fortunately, we are talking about an experience that they did not have this year.
Why don't we have enough summer schools and kindergartens
There are very few schools, kindergartens and summer nurseries, and those that are functioning can hardly cope with the large number of children. “There is a very high demand from parents. But this program cannot oblige educators, teachers, professors to come to school or kindergarten in the middle of summer, from vacation. It is their right to refuse, even if they are paid for it. Here is one reason why summer kindergartens are so few“, Dan Tita, the president of the Federation of Parents from Sector 1 of the Capital, declared for “Adevărul”. Cătălin Nan, the president of the Federation at the national level, is of the opinion that such a situation was inevitable. “Over the years, the population has concentrated mainly in metropolitan areas. Big cities are, many of them, a real magnet for people from the countryside. But the education system remained in place. We have the same number of schools, kindergartens and crèches even though the number of children has increased. Schools have become overcrowded. The town halls should be more involved, but also the Ministry of Education“, he explained. The parent believes that a school or kindergarten director, if he really wants to, can solve this problem. “But there is a need for perfect communication with the parents, a total involvement, a real desire on his part. A school director can involve the whole community of parents in such a project. Solutions are found, but they must be sought together”. Cătălin Nan is of the opinion that parents are an unused resource of the system, and this is totally to the detriment of children. “If the director gets involved and attracts the parents' association from the school or kindergarten, surely together they will find the resources both for substitute teachers, security, and for hot meals.” said the father.
