By Phumzile Mahlangu
A critical period for development in a child’s life is from birth to five years of age. During this period a foundation is laid for physical, cognitive, emotional and social growth, so that children can learn and thrive. It is therefore crucial that we continue to speed up the rollout of enrolment of children in pre-schools, particularly in underserviced communities to ensure that we build a foundation for their future.
In a recent report presented in August at the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Indaba 2025, held in Cape Town it was highlighted that more still needs to be done to improve the quality of education during the foundational years, particularly in rural and informal areas, and disadvantaged communities.
The gathering brought together various stakeholders to reflect and address challenges in the early childhood sector. This is critical as ECD remains central to the achievement of the National Development Plan of reducing poverty and inequality.
Therefore, we must work to ensure that every child in South Africa has access to a quality ECD programme, and every programme should provide three things which are quality learning and development opportunities, a safe and nurturing environment, and good nutrition.
The Indaba took place against the backdrop of the country intensifying efforts to review and realign the existing curriculum, including assessment, learning and teaching support material and teacher development programmes. We are also giving effect to our commitment to ensure that education is not for the privileged few but is accessed by all children, especially from poorer households. Every child, despite their background, should be given the opportunity to grow into confident, capable citizens that are able to contribute positively to society.
Furthermore, a mass registration drive of early learning centres across the country is currently underway through a campaign called the Bana Pele. This mass registration supports ECD centres to meet registration requirements, especially those in rural, informal, and disadvantaged communities.
Registering an ECD centre comes with benefits such as receiving government subsidies, nutrition programmes, training opportunities and quality assurance support. The registration of ECDs is essential in ensuring that centres provide an environment that is safe and offers great learning opportunities for children.
The registration is being rolled out through a simple and user-friendly online registration system and in a phased approach. It is currently being piloted in Gauteng, and this piloting will allow government to deal with potential glitches before it is implemented across the country. The online process of registration comprises of three stages, the first one is the submission of documents for application, followed by a site visit to ensure the ECD complies with the norms and standards and lastly the issuing of a compliance certificate.
Investing in ECD is an investment in the future of our nation, therefore we are determined to provide access to quality learning opportunities for an additional 1.3 million children by 2030. Making resources available is about developing a generation of young people who have the required skills to develop to thrive and assist in the development of our nation. It is also about breaking the cycle of poverty that is handed down from one generation to the next.
We therefore call on various stakeholders to assist government in realising the dream of our founding fathers which is to provide equal opportunities to all children, irrespective of background through the provision of early learning centres. Studies have shown that having access to quality early education is vital in ensuring that children grow into confident, capable citizens who contribute positively to society.
Let us therefore register our ECD programmes so that our children can have the best start and make our ECD landscape more effective, more inclusive and more impactful than ever before.
Phumzile Mahlangu is Assistant Director: Communication Resource Centre at GCIS
