Author: Geri Emiri
From a research of Albanian Center for Quality Journalism for the 24 reconstructed kindergartens within the initiative of the Municipality of Tirana, Adopt a garden, it turns out that some of them do not meet the basic infrastructural 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.
He didn't Adopt a garden was undertaken by the Municipality of Tirana during the summer of 2016, at the end of which the mayor Erion Veliaj said that part of the kindergartens were transformed and now the children would 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.
Albanian Center for Quality Journalism asked QEZHEF for an authorization to carry out an observation (survey) in some of the initiative's kindergartens regarding infrastructure conditions, but the request was rejected with the argument that, "the inspection of preschool institutions is the competence of the relevant structures only".
Center for Journalism processed the official data, received from QEZHEF, the State Health Inspectorate and a survey on the conditions in Tirana's kindergartens, carried out by the association Together for Life supported by Albania moves.
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.
For the fire in nursery number 14 in the area of Ali Demit the cause was the explosion of the gas cylinder. The police suspected deliberate arson. As for the fire in nursery school number 16 in the area of the formerbloc in Tirana, an accidental fire from a spark in a device was suspected.
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 from QEZHEF for the 24 kindergartens of the initiative Adopt a garden it turns out that, "alarm siren for warning of a possible fire has half of the gardens" and "emergency light" has half of the initiative's gardens, while "smoke detector for fire" has a little more than half of these gardens (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.
"In all these institutions, there are fire protection devices and signage indicating the emergency exit. These institutions were equipped with the technical act, at the moment when the use permit was obtained, in the period after the completion of the works", says the Directorate of Fire Protection and Rescue, Tirana Municipality, after a request for the right to information from Center for Journalism.
In the cases identified in 2017 by the monitoring of the association Together for Life, financially supported by Move Albania, it turned out that 8 kindergartens were reconstructed according to the initiative Adopt a Garden they do not have an emergency lighting system; 24 gardens of the initiative do not have generators to always provide alternative lighting; 18 of them do not have a lighting system for evacuation; 21 gardens do not have chromatic contrasts on the floor to indicate the direction of evacuation and 19 do not have signage to guide you to 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 of the basic elements in the infrastructure of the reconstructed gardens within the initiative Adopt a garden, parents and associations of the field raise the problem of overcrowding and completing the necessary kindergarten tools.
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.
"Decreasing 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 head of the association Together for Life.
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 at the beginning, there were 40 children registered. They were placed on the first floor (in violation of the emergency rules), and in the room with the smallest space in the garden, with 28 beds," she says to 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
24 initiative gardens Adopt a garden they also present problems related to cleanliness and hygiene, as a result of the lack or deterioration of the 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 initiative gardens Adopt a garden, 16 of them "are kindergartens, which meet the legal requirements and offer good hygienic and sanitary conditions", - replies the Inspectorate.
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.
In garden number 25/1, Hands, the stove, fridge, cooking counter and washing machine were missing, while garden 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.
To the garden 101 Dalmatians (no. 19), there was a hall and a toilet, while the presence of moisture was evident on the second floor; while in garden number 20, a lack of wire mesh was found in the kitchen window.
In the garden fireflies (no. 64), there were problems with the ceiling plaster in the corridor of the first floor, lack of disinfection and partial painting of the garden 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 came out after monitoring the association Together for Life, where the increase of physical spaces for children and the increase of internal control were specifically requested.
"From the last communication through an official letter in January 2019, we have found that during 2018 the Municipality of Tirana invested only for the maintenance of the gardens, but not concrete investments", said director Eglantina Bardhi for Center for Quality Journalism.
He didn't Adopt a garden brought about improvements in the conditions of the gardens 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 within the project "Tiranalytics: An assessment of public expenditures of local government in the Municipality of Tirana" which is supported by LevizAlbania, a project of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The opinions and views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the opinions and views of the donor.
