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Parents of children who go to private kindergartens have not yet received state subsidies for the previous month. When the editorial office of "Vremena" sent calls to the Secretariat for Education and Child Protection to the mentioned numbers, no one answered two of them, one was constantly busy, and two of the numbers claimed that it was a mistake and that they are not competent at all.
State subsidies for private kindergartens for children who were not admitted to the state kindergarten, they have not yet been paid for January. An additional problem for parents is that the deadline for payment of the amount for the month of February expires on Wednesday, February 5th.
Payments for the current month usually arrive around the 20th of the month at the latest, and this is the first time that there has been such a delay in almost all private kindergartens in Belgrade.
The rumors were confirmed for "Vreme" by a mother from Belgrade, whose child goes to a private kindergarten. She wished to remain anonymous.
"They gave us the numbers of the Secretariat for Education and Child Protection from the kindergarten. My child has been going to kindergarten for 5 years, and this is the first month that he has been this late", claims our interlocutor.
The situation is the same in other private kindergartens.
"I see on the Viber group that almost no one has received a subsidy yet. Everyone expects the payoff to be soon. I don't know how it will be in kindergartens now, because they also have expenses that they have to pay, and for that they use the money that their parents pay them. My child's kindergarten is not a problem because they understand that it is the state that is late. I just don't know how long they will tolerate it".
The directors are impatient.
Ana Boromisa is also the mother of a child who goes to a private kindergarten. He says for "Vreme" that the Secretariat for Education and Child Protection has been saying since January 15 that they have submitted the lists for subsidies and that now they are only waiting for the payment.
"Accounting, which releases payments, said at the beginning of last week that they have a new system and that is why they are late. Then on Friday they said that they would finally release all the payments, and since this morning they have been saying that they have technical problems and that it will be completed by the end of this week," claims Boromisa.
He says that this is the first time that such a large number of kindergartens still do not receive payments. The legal deadline for payment of the subsidy is the last day of the month.
"Usually these kinds of delays are sporadic and happen in a few kindergartens, they are only a few days late. Kindergarten principals have already started to cause problems."
In certain kindergartens, as Boromisa says, there are clauses in the contracts about default interest that parents must pay if they are late.
"Parents are embarrassed that they are late, and without subsidies they sometimes have no money. If you have two children, the kindergarten pays 80.000 per month. If they paid for January, in a few days they have to pay for February. "Some principals are patient and wait for the refund to arrive, and some simply say that parents have to pay because it is their contractual obligation and that they are not interested in the reason for the delay," says Boromisa.
In one kindergarten, he says, the director threatened to file a lawsuit against the parents.
Game of deaf telephones
Our interlocutor said that the director of the kindergarten left contact numbers of the Secretariat that parents can call to check what is happening with their overdue payments.
These are the phone numbers that can be found on the official website of the Secretariat for Education and Child Protection. Under the section "subsidies for private kindergartens - reimbursement of costs" there are five contact numbers.
However, no one answers the persistent calls of the editorial office of "Vremena" on two numbers, one is constantly busy, and on two numbers they claim that it was a mistake and that they are not in charge at all.
How do subsidies work?
In Belgrade, the amount of subsidy for kindergarten in 2025 is 33.000 dinars per month.
In Novi Sad, the monthly subsidy, for a full-day stay, for younger ages (6 months to 3 years) is 16.000 dinars, and for older people 13.000 dinars. If it is a half-day stay (five hours with a snack), the monthly subsidy is 5.200 dinars, and for the same period without a snack, 4.500 dinars.
The monthly amount of the subsidy is fixed, that is, the amount will not be less if the child was absent due to illness or vacation.
Subsidies are paid to the parents' account or to the account of the kindergarten (depending on the regulations of the kindergarten), and the amount is paid of 01. to 5. days of the month.
Private kindergartens are obliged to submit information to the address of the Secretariat for Education and Child Protection by the 25th day of the month that the child is still enrolled in the kindergarten and that he attended the kindergarten that month.
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