By Johnathan Paoli
Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube marked Nelson Mandela International Day with a dual event in Mpumalanga focusing on school infrastructure improvement and early childhood development (ECD) registration.
In a return to Boschrand Primary School in White River following a visit earlier this year, Gwarube presided over the official handover of a brand-new classroom block, built through the Classrooms4Hope initiative in partnership with Mozambique‘s Pipeline Investments Company, Ride4Hope and the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
“When I first visited Boschrand in January, up to four learners were sharing a desk. Today, because of collaboration between government and our corporate partners, we hand over fully furnished classrooms that ensure a dignified and effective learning environment for all 1400 learners,” Gwarube said.
The event highlighted the crucial role of public-private partnerships in addressing infrastructure backlogs in underserved schools.
The new classrooms included attached storage facilities and furniture, directly addressing the overcrowding that had particularly impacted Grade R learners.
The project forms part of broader efforts to tackle infrastructure deficits in rural and township schools across South Africa.
Quoting Nelson Mandela, Gwarube said: “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”
She emphasised that despite budgetary constraints in the basic education sector, “our commitment to providing every South African child with access to quality education remains steadfast”.
Learners, parents, teachers and local officials gathered to celebrate as the keys to the new classrooms were officially handed over.
The moment marked the culmination of months of coordinated effort and a shared belief in education as a vehicle for social upliftment.
Gwarube underlined the transformative potential of tripartite partnerships.
“When government, civil society and the private sector work together with shared purpose, we can restore dignity, hope and opportunity through education,” she said.
Following the handover, Gwarube travelled to Early Bird Daycare in KwaMsholozi, where she hosted a lively and informative Bana Pele ECD Registration Clinic in collaboration with Takalani Sesame.
Children, educators and parents were treated to appearances by the programme’s iconic muppet characters and an interactive play zone.
The event aimed to promote awareness about the importance of ECD while driving formal registration of ECD centres nationwide.
“We want every child in South Africa to have a strong start, emotionally, cognitively and socially. And that begins with recognising and supporting the critical role of ECD practitioners,” Gwarube said.
The department’s goal is to register 10,000 ECD centres by the end of 2025.
The registration initiative serves four key functions including formal inclusion of ECD programmes in the national regulatory system, support for compliance with legal and safety standards, access to state subsidies, especially for centres serving low-income families, and efficient processing of registration applications to reduce administrative delays.
The clinic also offered parents and caregivers an opportunity to speak directly with officials about the benefits of formalising their centres and the support available from the department.
Gwarube praised ECD workers for their often unrecognised efforts and committed to ensuring that the department prioritised funding, training and resources for early learning facilities in under-resourced communities.
Meanwhile, Basic Education Deputy Minister Reginah Mhaule led the department’s Mandela Day outreach in Thembisa, Gauteng, visiting two local ECD centres, Silindokuhle Day and After Care Centre and My Angels Day and After Care Centre, alongside deputy director-general Simone Geyer and ward councillor Nomvula Malinga.
The centres received donations of educational toys and books aimed at enhancing cognitive development and sparking curiosity in young learners.
Mhaule began the day by reading books aloud to the children and encouraged staff to incorporate storytelling into their daily routines.
“Reading and listening to stories nurtures imagination, builds language skills, and lays the foundation for a lifelong love of learning. These early interactions with books are not optional, they are essential,” Mhaule said.
Mhaule reaffirmed the department’s broader objective of empowering ECD centres with resources, training and institutional support, stating that every child “deserves a joyful, safe and stimulating start to life”.
Across both provinces, the department hailed its Mandela Day activities as showcasing a coherent and impactful vision of building bridges between sectors, strengthening educational foundations, and honouring the legacy of Madiba through service to South Africa’s most vulnerable citizens, its children.
INSIDE EDUCATION
