The Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, reported that the Early Childhood Development (ECD) shift took place seamlessly on 1 April 2022 thanks to Minister Zulu and her team of managers, as well as the DBE team of managers.
Motshekga thanked the “Portfolio Committees responsible for Basic Education and Social Development for performing their oversight responsibilities with distinction in this process”.
The Basic Education Department is currently in the process of crafting and implementing innovative strategies to strengthen Foundations of Learning. A Service Delivery Model has been developed, which proposes the following five strategies for improving the quality of Early Childhood Development in the country:
- Curriculum-based early learning for all children from birth to 5 year-olds.
- ECD programmes for all children from birth to 5 year-olds.
- Training, education and development for all those working in ECD.
- Coordination of all ECD services in the country.
- Developing a flexible funding and provisioning framework for ECD delivery.
To prepare for the ECD function shift, the Basic Education Department launched the Public Expenditure and Institution Review (PEIR), Thrive by Five Index baseline study, and National Census of Early Learning Programmes.
The DBE implemented PEIR, in collaboration with the World Bank and the National Treasury, which determines the funding that is being spent on ECD by the different spheres of the government, and the different departments on the prioritised ECD outcomes.
With the cooperation of First National Bank, Innovation Edge, USAID and ECD Measure, the Thrive by Five Index baseline study was conducted. It assessed the quality of ECD programmes in a nationally representative sample.
The baseline study was launched to the public on 8 April 2022.
“In years to come, we will be able to monitor the quality of early learning outcomes, which is a critical input to the school education that follows; and will provide nationally representative early childhood outcomes data at three yearly intervals.
The National Census of Early Learning Programmes was conducted in 41 000 ECD programmes, in collaboration with the LEGO Foundation.
The data collected from the Census will be used to map out all Early Learning Programmes to understand the full size and shape of the ECD sector; and to develop a national master list of ECD programmes, which will be incorporated into the Education Management Information System (EMIS) for ECD.
The complete dataset will also inform planning, resourcing and support to ECD programmes.
The improvements for the ECD, and the decision to relocate it to the DBE, took into account the resolutions of the 7th Basic Education Sector Lekgotla, which was held on around 26-28 January 2022 under the theme of “Equipping learners with knowledge and skills for a changing world in the context of COVID-19”.
