Feasibility study for Ljubuški

Highlights

Early childhood education and care [ECEC] services are a vital part of investments in human capital. Longitudinal studies from a wide range of case studies show that chil- dren who participate in high-quality ECEC programmes experience multiple benefits, including improved test scores, better graduation rates, decreased crime and delinquency rates, and improved lifetime income.1 When these benefits are monetized, the returns on investments can be enormous. Research from Bosnia and Herzegovina [BiH] bears out the importance of ECEC services. Attendance in high-quality pre-primary programmes has been linked with improvements in child development,

with reports of children being better socialized and able to focus upon entry to primary school, as well as learn- ing basic skills which promote life-long learning. These opportunities to invest in early childhood should not be missed. Estimates suggest that the inaction in facilitating a scale-up in ECEC coverage could cost the economy of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina [FBiH] up to 18 billion BAM by 2052.2

Within this context, UNICEF has commissioned this study into the feasibility of scaling up ECEC in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina [also referred to as FBiH], using the case study of the City of Ljubuški. This report is intended to provide practical guidance for decision-mak- ers on how to provide such an intervention. The focus of the framework underpinning the provision of this guid- ance is placed on developing insights into the financial, operational and political feasibility of scaling up ECEC. It should be noted that this study focuses solely on ECEC services for children aged 3-6 years.

STATUS AND TRENDS

Across the FBiH, and within the City of Ljubuški, access to ECEC has been improving in recent years and service provision is split between public and private institutions. At the Entity level, latest data suggest that 19% of 79,160 children aged 3-6 years in the FBiH are enrolled in ECEC. Meanwhile, in the City of Ljubuški, enrolment is far better than the Entity’s average of 52% in 2022. Enrolment is higher for children over the age of three, and the highest coverage rate is in the 4–5-year age category. It is notable that nearly half of the children (including 31% aged 5-6 years) still do not have access to vital ECEC services in the city. The private sector has fuelled this high coverage rate. Whilst 42% of children enrolled in ECE across the FBiH are in private preschools, this rises to 59% in the City of Ljubuški.

Enrolment patterns mirror those seen in other parts of
the country and are linked to the socio-economic status and location of the household. Children from households where one or both parents/caregivers are unemployed, or those from peripheral areas outside the city, are more like- ly to struggle to gain access to ECEC. In Ljubuški, 66.27% of all children enrolled came from families in which both parents were employed, and 29.8% from families in which one parent was employed.3 In contrast, only one enrolled child comes from a family in which both parents are unemployed and just 3.6% come from families involved in agricultural production.4