Author: Geri Emiri
A research by the Albanian Center for Quality Journalism on 24 kindergartens reconstructed as part of the Tirana Municipality initiative, Adopt a Kindergarten , shows that some of them do not meet basic infrastructure standards related to the movement of children and the protection of their lives.
The lack of ramps for strollers and those with disabilities, conditions for fire protection or monitoring with security cameras remain challenges for kindergartens.
Hygiene-sanitary problems were found in 8 of the initiative's kindergartens, and overcrowding is one of the problems raised by parents and associations that focus on their health and well-being.
The Adopt a Kindergarten initiative was undertaken by the Municipality of Tirana during the summer of 2016, at the end of which Mayor Erion Veliaj said that some of the kindergartens were transformed and children would now learn in modern infrastructure.
The reconstruction or reconstruction of the gardens was carried out mainly with the financing of private businesses that responded to the call of the municipality. The works were carried out in 2016, but they did not meet the basic criteria of construction or interventions in special institutions, such as kindergartens, at which time the draft for the "Approval of the design standards of kindergartens" was compiled, which was then approved on 1 March 2017.
Barriers from the lack of ramps and the risk of fire
The Economic Center for the Development and Education of Children (QEZHEF), an institution under the jurisdiction of the Municipality of Tirana, deals with the administration of nurseries and kindergartens in the territory of the municipality.
The Albanian Center for Quality Journalism requested authorization from QEZHEF to conduct a survey (survey) in some of the initiative's kindergartens regarding infrastructural conditions, but the request was rejected with the argument that, "the inspection of preschool institutions is the competence of the relevant structures only."
The Center for Journalism processed official data, obtained from QEZHEF, the State Health Inspectorate, and a study on conditions in Tirana kindergartens, conducted by the Together for Life association supported by Lëviz Albania.
In the 24 reconstructed or reconstructed kindergartens, regarding children's access, it turns out that 25% of the initiative's kindergartens have the (infrastructure/ramp) for strollers.
While about 30% of them have outdoor and indoor facilities accessible to people with disabilities, according to the official response of QEZHEF.
"Kindergartens and nurseries should normally be accessible, since, looking at the age of the children in these institutions, from 0-6 years, almost all children are in strollers. I believe that there are no elevators inside the buildings, but adjustments can also be made inside the kindergarten premises, when we have cases of children with disabilities, since they can be assigned to a class on the first floor", said a social worker, who asked not to be identified by name.
In August last year, two nurseries in Tirana were engulfed in fire.
The fire at kindergarten number 14 in the Ali Demi area was caused by a gas cylinder explosion. The police suspected deliberate arson. While the fire at kindergarten number 16 in the former Blloku area in Tirana was suspected to be an accidental fire caused by a spark in an appliance.
Another fire earlier (kindergarten number 45, on January 5, 2016) was accompanied by the evacuation of about 150 children. Fortunately, there were no consequences in humans.
Today, kindergarten number 45 has been reconstructed within the initiative.
From the data obtained by QEZHEF for the 24 kindergartens of the Adopt a Kindergarten initiative , it results that, "half of the kindergartens have an alarm siren to notify of a possible fire" and "emergency lights" have half of the kindergartens of the initiative, while "smoke detectors for fire" have a little more than half of these kindergartens (54.17%).
A part of the gardens, 29.17%, have the windows closed with railings.
Only 6% of kindergartens have an "emergency exit door". About 33% of kindergartens are equipped with "emergency exit signals".
Regarding "the generator to always provide alternative lighting, the doors that open in the inside-out direction and explanatory signs for the colors that prevent danger", QEZHEF did not provide information, explaining that "it is not mandatory/provided by law to be fulfilled".
The Tirana Fire Service, under the authority of the Municipality, is responsible for issuing the technical act.
This act is given before putting the facilities into use only after fulfilling the rules.
This institution informs us that the relays of all the kindergartens of the initiative have been trained in case of fire.
"All these institutions have fire protection equipment and signs indicating the emergency exit. These institutions were equipped with the technical act, at the moment the usage permit was obtained, in the period after the completion of the works," says the Directorate of Fire Protection and Rescue, Municipality of Tirana, following a right to information request from the Center for Journalism.
In cases identified in 2017 by the monitoring of the Together for Life association , financially supported by LëvizAlbania , it resulted that 8 kindergartens reconstructed under the Adopt a Kindergarten initiative do not have an emergency lighting system; 24 kindergartens of the initiative do not have generators to always provide alternative lighting; 18 of them do not have an evacuation lighting system; 21 kindergartens do not have chromatic contrasts on the floor to indicate the direction of evacuation and 19 do not have signage to guide you towards emergency exits in case of fire.
Although QEZHEF emphasizes the fact that all the gardens are equipped with fire extinguishers, it remains unclear how the Directorate of Fire Protection and Rescue has equipped them with the technical act of fire protection and rescue, in the conditions where most of the elements are missing that the law determines.
Overcrowding affects growth
Beyond the lack of some basic elements in the infrastructure of the kindergartens reconstructed within the framework of the Adopt a Kindergarten initiative , parents and associations in the field raise the problem of overcrowding and the lack of necessary equipment in the kindergartens.
A parent who sends a child to a kindergarten in Tirana today pays for food 160 ALL per day or 3520 ALL per month, including sleeping and eating. But there are also "hidden costs".
At the beginning of the year, it is paid for the "package of didactic tools" which can cost about 3000-4000 ALL. Every month, a "hygiene package" is purchased, which includes paper, liquid soap, etc., and costs about 200 ALL. Also, at the beginning of the year, a fee of 1000 ALL is paid for the night guard.
Calculating the figures that the Municipality of Tirana made available to us, it turns out that out of the 24 kindergartens of the initiative, only 17% of them have security cameras.
"Reducing the density of children in groups, reducing the child/educator ratio to be as close as possible to the ratio used by neighboring countries and those in the region, are urgent needs," says E. Bardhi, the director of the Together for Life association.
Ina Kasimati is the head of parents in the children's group where she has her son, in a non-initiative kindergarten.
"In my son's group, there were initially 40 children registered. They were placed on the first floor (in violation of emergency regulations), and in the smallest room in the kindergarten, with 28 beds," she tells the Center for Quality Journalism.
"Failure to meet these conditions creates difficulties in the process of raising or educating children. If there is overcrowding in the groups and less staff, there will always be children who will not be under the attention of educators", says Eglantina Bardhi.
Since February 2018, 20 parents of children in nurseries and kindergartens in Tirana have complained to the Ombudsman about the menu of nurseries and kindergartens, which is not based on a monthly plan, but on a weekly one. According to Kasimat, the problem is the use of oats 3 times a week that can cause health problems in children and, according to her, the case is still under review by the People's Advocate.
The infrastructure lowers the hygienic-sanitary conditions
The 24 kindergartens of the Adopt a Kindergarten initiative also present problems related to cleanliness and hygiene, as a result of lack or deterioration of infrastructure. Although newly reconstructed, the State Health Inspectorate, during inspections in the period May-June 2018, has identified problems related to hygiene and sanitary conditions.
Of the 24 kindergartens of the Adopt a Kindergarten initiative , 16 of them "are kindergartens that meet legal requirements and offer good hygienic and sanitary conditions," the Inspectorate responds.
While in 8 of them, deficiencies in infrastructure are evident.
Garden number 24 did not have a partition between the children's toilets, and the refrigerator and vacuum cleaner are not professional.
Kindergarten number 25/1, Duarartët , was missing a stove, refrigerator, cooking counter, and washing machine, while kindergarten number 6 was not painted and had damaged tiles on the kitchen floor.
In kindergarten number 8, the Health Inspectorate finds that there is a lack of mesh on the kitchen doors, in the bedrooms and there is moisture present on the first floor.
The Health Inspectorate in garden number 39 found the lack of an extractor in the kitchen, the lack of shelves and draining grates in the kitchen, the tap, and problems with the washing machine.
At kindergarten 101 Dalmatians (no. 19), there was a hall and a toilet, while the presence of humidity was noted on the second floor; while in kindergarten number 20, a lack of wire mesh was found in the kitchen window.
In the Xixëllonjat kindergarten (no. 64), there were problems with the ceiling plaster in the first floor corridor, lack of disinfection and partial painting of the kindergarten premises, the State Health Inspectorate further states.
After the findings in the newly reconstructed gardens, the municipality seems to have taken measures to improve the problems.
"The re-inspection was carried out in the September-October period, where the completion of all tasks left was evidenced and as a result no administrative measure was taken", - writes the State Health Inspectorate in its response.
However, it seems that the Municipality did not have the same reaction to the recommendations that emerged after the monitoring of the Together for Life association , which specifically requested the addition of physical spaces for children and increased internal control.
"From the last communication through an official letter in January 2019, we have learned that during 2018, the Municipality of Tirana invested only in the maintenance of the gardens, but not in concrete investments," said director Eglantina Bardhi for the Center for Quality Journalism.
The Adopt a Kindergarten initiative brought improvements to the conditions of kindergartens in the capital.
The challenge remains that improvements and investments should be measured, not with the state that was, but with the standards of the time.
(Photo at the beginning of the article, credit: Gazeta Shqip)
*Editor: Lutfi Dervishi
** This article was produced as part of the project “Tiranalytics: An assessment of local government public spending in the Municipality of Tirana” supported by LevizAlbania, a project of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation . The opinions and positions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the opinions and positions of the donor.
