Workers of JU 'Children of Sarajevo' Speak Out: Appointed Director Bekrić Practices Nepotism, While the Government Pushes Private Kindergartens!

By Rasim Belko @rasimbelko

The question that is increasingly being asked these days can be summarized roughly as one – is there a loophole in the system that the current 'Trojka' government has not managed to widen enough to rapidly swallow both money and the system.

Workers of public enterprises, youth, pensioners, drivers, passengers, and generally citizens of Sarajevo Canton are daily facing the repercussions of the catastrophic management of the system, which in the hands of the SDP, Our Party, and NiP's personnel managers looks like a half-submerged ship.

Children are also in trouble, or more precisely, the institutions that deal with the upbringing and education of our children. In the past, problems at JU “Djeca Sarajeva” were not rare on media headlines. Today, these problems are piling up again, and the workers, who have had enough of everything, have decided to speak out.

They tell us that the problem of appointed, yet incompetent directors at JU “Djeca Sarajeva” continues year after year. With the 'Trojka' coming to power, the prize known as JU “Djeca Sarajeva” fell to Our Party through an inter-party agreement, which appointed Ilda Bekrić to head the institution.

Workers of JU “Djeca Sarajeva” testify that Bekrić, without any experience in leadership positions, came to head the institution and proved to be a complete failure.

However, the workers’ problem is not just the director, but also the founder of the institution – the Ministry of Education and Science and the KS Government, who behave like a stepmother towards the institution they are responsible for ensuring functions normally.

The problems have become more complex after the introduction of the EMIS system for enrolling preschool children in kindergartens in KS, where JU “Djeca Sarajeva” is placed in a subordinate position through the simultaneous admission of children to the public and private sectors, although it was initially determined that the capacities of the public institution should be filled first, and only then the capacities of private institutions.

Dissatisfied workers point out that the populist moves of the 'Trojka' government in KS, through increasing allocations for subsidies to private institutions, are exacerbating the situation at JU “Djeca Sarajeva”. The KS Government provides subsidies to private kindergartens that are popping up without any legal oversight or permits, and since the introduction of subsidies, the number of kindergartens has grown from about 25 to 64 as of November. This indicates the grabbing of budget money, as many kindergartens are linked to members of the ruling parties, who have allocated 13 million for subsidies this year.

The KS Government, nor the relevant ministry, are concerned that private kindergartens employ staff without appropriate diplomas, and in a large percentage, and their incompetence produces stories in the public about the mistreatment and poor condition of children.

Parents of children have also pointed out the problem of enrollment through the EMIS system because kindergartens of JU “Djeca Sarajeva” do not appear in this system, but private kindergartens do first, which directly harms parents, as well as the public institution.

The preference for the private sector over the public one, for which the Ministry of Education and Science is responsible, is more than evident, although the subsidy amount cannot be returned to the KS budget, meaning that money is de facto gifted to the private sector at the expense of the JU.

“Djeca Sarajeva” is the largest and oldest preschool institution in the country, celebrating its 80th anniversary next year, and the bureaucrats in the relevant ministry, led by Minister Naida Hota-Muminović, are contributing to its erosion, humiliation, and neglect in every possible way.

Workers point out that the minister and all her advisors have absolutely no grasp of the subject of preschool education. They fear that due to manipulation of the EMIS system, educational groups might be closed, leading to a surplus of workers at JU “Djeca Sarajeva”.

Furthermore, workers of JU “Djeca Sarajeva” also point to nepotistic and suspicious activities of director Bekrić, who is more concerned with pleasing others than with educating.

At JU “Djeca Sarajeva”, there are increasingly more cliques, which harms children the most, and the cause of these cliques is the director's actions, claim the workers.

“The behavior of people who have children on their lips, but in reality, children are just a number on paper to get subsidies and to satisfy private and personal interests of individuals, while the interest of children is neglected, is shameful,” say the workers unanimously, whose identities we will not disclose.

And they do not want to reveal their identities in public because they also point out the following.

Director Bekrić, they say, favored Nermin Ferhatović, a member of the Management Board of JU “Djeca Sarajeva”, to appoint teacher Aldijana Hodžić, who is also the teacher of Ferhatović's child, to the position of assistant director. The inspection reacted and ordered that this be annulled with a fine of 3,000 KM.

The story about the competition and director Bekrić's nepotism is another one that JU “Djeca Sarajeva” workers are revealing to us.

Namely, after the competition held in April this year, in which she did not pass as a nurse and her contract expired, Adisa Memić-Muratović was returned to work about 10 days later.

Director Bekrić is the godmother of Adisa Memić-Muratović, and due to a 15-day contract interruption, Bekrić enabled Memić-Muratović an indefinite contract, without a competition, after combining her 3 years of work in continuity, even though Memić-Muratović showed extremely poor results in the competition.

Workers conclude the story about their director with another example of nepotism.

After the voting for the election of the director of JU “Djeca Sarajeva” was completed, as a thank you for the support, Bekrić favored Ismena Zornić, a member of the JU “Djeca Sarajeva” Management Board from the workers' representatives, to change her job position from educator to pedagogue, all at the expense of pedagogue Amela Halilović, who held that position in the kindergartens of Novi Sarajevo. This concerns a martyr's child, who was fired after a protest. That case is currently pending in court.

It is clear even to the birds on the branches that Hota-Muminović and the personnel from the 'Trojka' annex cannot lead institutions that educate and raise our children properly. The only question is how long it will take before the system completely collapses. And what then!?