By Johannah Malogadihlare
The Basic Education Department is currently on a drive to register early childhood development (ECD) operators, with a target of 10,000 by the end of 2025.
There are around 18,000 centres registered nationally, according to department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga.
He said that currently around half of the ECD programmes were not registered and were attended by tens of thousands of children.
“This means that more than 20,000 ECD programmes operate outside the regulatory framework and are not part of any formal oversight process, which disproportionately affects ECDs in low-income areas meaning the poorest children are most likely to miss out on oversight and funding,” he said in a statement.
“ECD is a critical period in a child’s life that lays the foundation for future learning, behaviour and health,” Mhlanga said.
South African practitioners will be assisted through the application process by a contact centre agent on the department’s new Early Childhood Administrative and Reporting System (eCares).
The department said its team was working closely with provinces to align on the new registration framework, processes and goals.
“We are also partnering with other ecosystem stakeholders and NGOs who are supporting the registration drive. We are currently live in Gauteng and Free State and will soon roll out into the rest of the provinces,” said Mhlanga.
The department has received over 3000 applications since the process opened in June. Around 800 new ECDs operators have been registered.
Mhlanga said this had impacted 27,114 children and 3116 staff members. “To put this in context, since the ECD function shift from the DSD (social development) to the DBE, Gauteng has had a total of 2380 registered centres, and through the campaign we have added 30% more registered ECDs to this number,” Mhlanga said.
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