Romanian commune refurbishes three kindergartens, closes them for lack of pupils

The City Hall of Sâmbăta, a commune in northwestern Romania’s Bihor county, has spent RON 800,000 (EUR 168,421) to refurbish three kindergartens which it later closed down for lack of pupils, Ebihoreanul.roreported.

The money came from the Regional Development Ministry, through the National Local Development Program (PNDL).

The refurbished kindergartens are located in the villages of Rogoz, Ogeşti and Zăvoiu. Before the start of the works, the units had the toilets outside and were heated with stoves. As part of the refurbishment, which took place between 2017 and 2019, the buildings were isolated thermically, the roofs were changed, the old windows and doors were replaced with double glazing ones, and centralized heating was set up, alongside indoor toilets.

Nonetheless, because not enough children registered for kindergarten, the units were closed.

“There are not enough children in villages. This school year, 7 children registered for kindergarten in Ogeşti, 5 in Rogoz, and 3 in Zăvoi. To set up the classrooms we needed a minimum of 10 children. Otherwise we cannot even cover the salary expenses,” Ioana Ştefan, the director of the Sâmbata School, told Ebihoreanul.ro.

Meanwhile, the teachers looked for jobs elsewhere and children are taken by minibus to the kindergarten open in the commune center.

Representatives of the Sâmbata City Hall said they would try to reopen the units for the following school year.

Also through the PNDL program, the commune received RON 406,645 (EUR 85,609) to modernize its secondary school and another RON 282,252 (EUR 59,421) for the kindergarten in the village of Sâmbăta.

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