North West MEC for Health and Social Development, Rebecca Kasienyane will on Thursday, 28 October kick start a process of ensuring the registration and full operation of Early Childhood Development centres (ECD) at Batho Botsile Early Learning Center in Bodibe near Itsoseng township. The initiative which has been allocated over R15 million will be rolled in all four districts namely Ngaka Modiri Molema, Dr. Ruth Segomotsi Mompati, Bojanala and Dr. Kenneth Kaunda.
A total of 160 centres have been assessed for provision of equipment and 98 for minor renovations. An agreement has been entered into with two implementing agencies namely, Independent Development Trust (IDT) and Isago Consulting Group for the expansion of ECD services targeting 15 prioritised municipalities in the four District Municipalities. IDT will focus on Bojanala, Ngaka Modiri Molema and Dr. Ruth Segomotsi Mompati Districts while Isago will focus on Dr Kenneth Kaunda District.
The focus of the expansion project is on deprived wards in the province in terms of the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (PGDS) and the Poverty Eradication Strategy (PES). The expansion project aims at assisting partial care facilities that cannot meet the registration requirements, improving conditions in facilities in terms of renovations and provision of indoor and outdoor equipment to ensure that the environment is conducive for the care and protection of children and to provide appropriate school readiness programmes.
With 360 of 849 ECD centres currently being subsidized, the department has also resolved to back 200 more ECD centers per annum. This is in response to the national call of massifying ECD services throughout the country.
The department is also working tirelessly to register over 500 unregistered ECD centers which are currently operating in the province. The Chapter 5 of the Childrens Act 38 of 2005 requires every person who takes care of more than six children on behalf of their parents or caregiver during specific hours of the day or night, must register as a partial care facility.
The department firmly believes that every child has the right to the best possible start in life and that early childhood (0 to 9 yrs) represents the most critical phase in the development cycle of human beings. ECD services are recognised as the ideal phase for the passing on of values that are important for the building of a peaceful, prosperous and democratic society.
The media is invited to be part of the kickstart project scheduled to start at 10am.
Enquiries:
Tebogo Lekgethwane (Department Spokesperson)
Cell: 082 929 9958
E-mail: tlekgethwane@nwpg.gov.za
