Early Childhood Development

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) presented a situational report to Parliament on the state of Early Childhood Development (ECD) in the country. The purpose of the national integrated ECD policy is to provide an overarching multi-sectorial enabling framework of ECD services, inclusive of national, provincial and local spheres of government.

The short-term goals of the Department on ECD are to establish the necessary legal framework(s), organisational structures and institutional arrangements and plan financing mechanisms necessary to support and realise its commitments. The medium-term goal is to provide age appropriate and essential components for quality ECD services, accessible to all infants and young children and their caregivers. The long term goal is targeted at providing a full comprehensive age and development stage appropriate package of quality ECD development services, also accessible to all infants and young children and their caregivers. The short, medium and long term goals are targeted for 2018, 2024 and 2030 respectively.

The challenges facing the ECD programme are obtaining accurate and timely information from provinces due to the lack of reliable data collection and information systems, staff shortages, lack of cooperation from some departments and lack of sufficient human capacity at national and provincial levels. Actions to combat these challenges include the conditional grant framework which was approved in December 2016 and became operational on 1 April 2017. Worryingly, there has been under-spending of the fund by the provinces, as they had spent only 52% of the grant transferred to them in the second quarter of 2016/17. Nevertheless, efforts are being made by the DBE to ensure that ECD practitioners are trained and that existing educators are able to achieve a minimum of National Qualifications Framework (NQF) level four.

The Department of Social Development said that until an integrated data collection system is available, which would be updated in real time so that it could provide verifiable data, it would be difficult to identify the number of ECD centres, learners, locations and gaps available in the centres. An integrated data collection system should be available in a year’s time. Although some practitioners slipped through the process, they were often screened through the child protection registers before they were employed. An ECD centre must present an environmental health certificate subsequent to registration by the Department of Social Development.

MPs emphasised the need for stakeholder and interdepartmental collaboration to ensure the programme yields the best of results. Concerns were expressed that the situational analysis was based on information derived from research conducted in 2004. The possibility that the information had changed was high and this would make a difference to the plans of the departments. Other matters raised sharply were about the qualification and vetting of ECD practitioners and the conditions of the ECD facilities.

Read full report here: https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/25345/