A kindergarten opens on the Rijeka university campus

On Monday, the University of Rijeka and the City of Rijeka signed an agreement on the project of opening the Kapljica Kindergarten within the University Campus in Trsat, which is unique in Croatia and beyond, was highlighted during the signing. Kindergarten Kapljica is arranged on the ground floor of one of the accommodation buildings on the Campus, on an area of ​​250 square meters.

Rector of the University in Rijeka Snježana Prijić Samaržija pointed out that this project is the result of long-term cooperation between the University and the City of Rijeka. This is an important step forward that will improve the culture of life for the employees of the University, but also for the residents of the surrounding city districts, who will be able to enroll their children in that kindergarten, she stated.

The university wants to participate as much as possible in the life of the community, and the City Administration enables this to happen, she added.

Rector Prijić Samaržija pointed out that the new kindergarten to provide an opportunity for the operation and research of the new center for childhood research, which until now operated within the Faculty of Education, and with the new kindergarten, it will operate at the level of the University.

The University of Rijeka has invested around 300 thousand euros for project documentation and space arrangement. The City of Rijeka is participating in financing the purchase of equipment and furniture and will cover the costs of exterior decoration with around 130 thousand euros.

Kindergarten According to the plan, the drops will be opened in the spring of next year. Act within the city institution Dječji vrtić Sea. It will have two educational groups, a crèche and a kindergarten, for 32 children. Two teachers and an assistant cook-preparer will be employed.

The deputy mayor of Rijeka, Sandra Krpan, pointed out during the signing that this project, as a result of the synergy between the City of Rijeka and the University, will further increase the capacities of Rijeka’s kindergartens. This is in accordance with our pre-election promise, at the beginning of the mandate, when there were many unenrolled children every year. We opened more than 200 places in 25 groups in kindergartens, and now there are no unenrolled children in nurseries and kindergartens from the priority list, Krpan pointed out.

Over the past three years, the City of Rijeka has invested almost one million euros in increasing nursery and kindergarten capacities. In 2024, it secured almost 4.9 million euros for capital investments and the costs of ongoing maintenance of kindergartens, it was pointed out.