Cold classrooms are a thing of the past for the students and teachers at the school in Visoko

Energy retrofitted Elementary School “Mula Mustafa Bašeskija” in Visoko through the LowCarbon project

December 29, 2023

Poor working conditions in cold classrooms are now a thing of the past for students and staff of Elementary School “Mula Mustafa Bašeskija" in Donje Moštre in Visoko, thanks to energy reconstruction and heating insulation under the project Scaling-Up Investment in Low-Carbon Public Buildings in BiH (LowCarbon), financed by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), and implemented by UNDP in BiH in cooperation with the Ministry of Spatial Planning of the BiH Federation, and other partners in the country.

The roof and exterior joinery of the school building were replaced, and the building’s walls were thermally insulated. The school switched from coal heating to pellet, with thermostats installed on the radiators. The staff recall clouds of smoke and soot once covering the school during the heating season, which polluted the air. The school is now cleaner, warmer and much more pleasant to work in, which has also improved the quality of the classes.

“The pleasantly warm workplace helped boost motivation of students and teachers. They were frustrated in cold classrooms, it was difficult to focus on work, which is why we often received backlash from the parents.”

School Principal, Efedina Ćehajić

Principal Ćehajić emphasizes that this investment has significantly improved the conditions for 95 female staff of the school, which has a total of 112 employees. Working in cold rooms in previous years had considerable impact on their health.

“Entering a warm school now makes students and teachers smile and feel comfortable. Students are freer, more creative, active and happier. They carry out their activities undisturbed, which is why their focus and classes engagement is visibly better. They sit in class in comfortable t-shirts and pants, without layers or additional clothes”.

Teacher Fata Ribica describes what being in the school is like.

By solving the infrastructural problems of the building, the conditions were created for new investments in teaching aids and equipping the cabinet.

The LowCarbon project aims to eliminate financial barriers to scale up investment in public buildings, which contributed to the reduction of CO2 emissions, generates savings, creates new green jobs, and supports the country's economic development.

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