Kindergartens and Schools of Another Seven Settlements Modernised with EU Support in South Transdanubia 7 December 2010
An important project-closing ceremony was held in Mezőcsokonya on 3 December: it marked the completion of a 982 million HUF project involving EU support and aimed at the modernisation of the region’s education network. Under the South Transdanubia Operational Programme modern and fully accessible education conditions were created in eight institutions of seven settlements. This means that new group rooms, specialised classrooms, playgrounds and up-to-date educational equipment have been put to the service of the teachers in their work and the development of the children.
The kindergarten and the primary school are the basic institutions of social integration and development of children. That the South Transdanubian region shares this thought is shown eloquently by the new integrated education network in Somogyjád which has been implemented with 982 million HUF EU support and with local financing that brought the sum to over one billion.
It is typical of the South Transdanubian region, too, that the technical and professional conditions of the kindergartens and schools are obsolete and in need of upgrading. The local governments of the region pooled their efforts to improve these conditions and applied for EU grants, as a result of which the project with an overall budget of one billion HUF was launched in October 2009.
For the organisations that maintain the institutions the goal was clear: to create schools and kindergartens that meet the requirements of the modern age in terms of professional conditions of teaching and which are also energy-saving, accessible for the handicapped and have all the necessary specialised classrooms and community spaces.
In Somogyjád both the school and the kindergarten were renovated. In the kindergarten three group rooms were fully refurbished, the doors and the windows were replaced. The school underwent major changes too: a new assembly hall was built with a gallery, rooms for the administrative and medical staff, storage facilities and restrooms for the teachers. Ten classrooms, corridors, the lobby, the stairs, the natural history and art classrooms and the language laboratory were also renovated and upgraded. In addition to making the school fully obstacle-free, the builders replaced the old plumbing.
At Mezőcsokonya, where the project closing ceremony was held, the school was renewed both inside and outside. An old wing was pulled down and in its place new classrooms and offices were built. In the place of the old gym room a canteen, kitchen and a library were built. But the students were not left without exercise facilities either: a new gym was built, and six new classrooms, two language laboratories, IT and natural science education rooms were added to the school.
In Mernye a new gym and an assembly hall were added to the school. The building was made fully obstacle-free, including the construction of a wheelchair toilet. The doors and windows were replaced to save energy.