The Minister said the Basic Education has been in collaboration with Social Development Departments, working towards migrating Early Childhood Development [ECD] from the Social Development Departments to the Department of Basic Education.
It has been announced that ECDs will start functioning as part of Basic Education from 1 April 2022.
In an official government statement, Motshekga said:
We know from international evidence that education systems will contribute to development only when they function optimally, and their component parts are focused on quality improvement.
Motshekga also added that this will ensure accountability for learning outcomes from early childhood and foundations to the more senior grades.
The migration of these centres will grant the education department an opportunity to create and then implement strategies that will not only strengthen foundational learning but also look at the progression from birth to early grades
This came after President Cyril Ramaphosa had announced the shift in this function and that there will be two years of compulsory ECD for all children before they enter Grade 1.
For the full Sona 2019 speech, click here.
The President had also highlighted that another critical priority is to improve reading with comprehension for the young children in their first years of school.
Basic Education Minister emphasised that it is key for the education sector that the ECD service delivery is implemented as soon as the function shift happens.
