State of ECDs: Are we making progress in prioritizing young children's early education outcomes?

The Talking Point

According to the Thrive by Five report, only 45% of children are on track with educational outcomes of early learning programmes. Our next guests have written letter to the Minister of Basic Education calling for urgency in finalizing the move from Department of Social Development given the 5 year wait. The bill was initially proposed in Parliament back in 2019 and was redrafted last year based on public comment. The revised bill is set to be presented at the parliamentary portfolio committee for basic education in the coming weeks.

The policy shift has been aimed at safeguarding the sector by improving the quality of educational outcomes for early learning programmes and accessibility to centres. This is set to affect 27 000 centres and over 2 million children up to the age of 5. National Treasury has set aside R1,5 billion for the transition of early childhood development and capacitate long-term investment for practitioners and ensure quality assurance. To help us unpack the importance of strengthening educational outcomes at a foundational level, we are joined by…

Guest: Gugulethu Ndebele - Executive Director Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls (OWLAG)

Guest: Marie-Louise Samuels - Early Childhood Development expert