OŠ 'Ćamil Sijarić' Nemila marks 117 years of work: ZDK Government secured nearly one million KM for new investments

(Patria) - With a ceremonial program, the Elementary School "Ćamil Sijarić" in Nemila today marked 117 years of existence and work.

This significant jubilee was attended by numerous guests, parents, staff, and students of the school.

The attendees were addressed by the Prime Minister of the Zenica-Doboj Canton (ZDK) Nezir Pivić and the school principal Amir Šarić.

The ceremony was also attended by representatives of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of ZDK and former minister Spahija Kozlić.

Pivić emphasized that the ZDK Government has paid special attention to investments in education, both through the improvement of infrastructure and equipment, and through improving the material status of employees.

- Our goal is for our children to have the best and most beautiful learning environment possible. For the first time, this Government has provided free textbooks for all elementary school students, from first to ninth grade.

More than four million KM has been allocated for this. We are aware of the financial situation of parents and believe we have done the right thing - said Pivić.

He stated that the ZDK Government has increased salaries for employees in education on several occasions over the past nearly three years.

- When we took over the mandate in 2023, we encountered protests by education employees, and today we can say that for some categories, incomes have increased by more than 50 percent.

I announce that in the next month we will sign a new collective agreement in education, which will mean new increases and better rights for all employees in this sector.

We will also continue with investments in infrastructure. For this school alone, the ZDK budget for 2026 provides 700,000 KM, along with funds that will be realized through regular transfers from the Ministry.

Among the projects already started are the construction of new halls in the branch schools in Orahovica and Šerići, and the construction of new schools with playgrounds in Bistrica and Starina, while the playground in Kovanići has already been completed - said Pivić.

The total value of planned and started investments in this educational institution, including funds provided by the ZDK budget for 2026 and projects for the facade and replacement of joinery, amounts to nearly one million KM.

School principal Amir Šarić thanked the ZDK Government, led by Prime Minister Pivić, former minister Kozlić, and former school principal Ahmed Buljubašić, who successfully led this educational institution for eight years.

Šarić stated that 117 years of educational work in Nemila speaks to the commitment of the people of this region to learning and education.

- We mark this anniversary remembering the successes and challenges facing the school, which, in addition to the central one, has ten branch schools, with a total of 130 employees, and covers an area of 13 local communities.

This makes this institution one of the most organizationally complex in the canton when it comes to daily life and work. We strive every year to raise the conditions of learning and teaching to a higher level, and in this we have significant support from the ZDK Government.

Just this year, more than 150,000 KM has been invested in the school, including the construction of a polygon in Kovanići worth 100,000 KM.

We received modern internet in the central school, new video surveillance, reconstructed the art classroom, carried out the reconstruction of the internal and external fire hydrant network, and everything is ready for the implementation of a large project to replace joinery worth 80,000 KM, which should start next week.

Today, the tender for the facade of the central school worth 127,000 KM is being finalized, after which a contractor should be selected - said Šarić.

The Elementary School "Ćamil Sijarić" in Nemila, with 10 branch organizational units, is the largest and, with 1,100 students, the most numerous school in ZDK and one of the largest in the Federation of BiH.

It was founded in 1909. Due to floods, wars, infectious diseases and other events, the school has ceased operations six times since its founding and resumed its activities, striving to provide each coming generation with better conditions for attending classes and a good foundation for continuing education.