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LAYING SOLID FOUNDATIONS
FOR LEARNING
Early Childhood Development
Briefing to the
Select Committee on Education and Recreation
Mrs Palesa Tyobeka
Deputy Director-General: General Education
26th August 2009
Putting ECD at the center: An education
imperative
• After 1994 SA accepted the moral responsibility to address
significant inequality in opportunity by strengthening focus on
the earliest years. Also adopted international definition of ECD
as focusing on children from 0 – 9yrs;
• Commitment in policy documents on ECD centers around
health, promotion and welfare of children in their formative
years.
• In Education this commitment has been expressed through the
drive to Universal Access to Grade R by 2010 (WP6) and
participation and co-leadership of the Integrated Plan for Early
Childhood Development: Tshwaragano ka bana.
0 – 4 YEARS
Introduction to Tshwaragano ka bana
• White Paper 5 on Early Childhood Education:
–
The Department of Education accepts that providing ECD for
children younger than five years requires a combination and a
variety of programmes that draw in several departments and levels
of government, nongovernmental organisations, CBOs, families,
parents an children. (White Paper 5 p61)
• There are three main role players:
– Departments of Education, Health and Social Development (DSD – lead
department)
General progress to date
• Some of the improvement in the access to services for
children 0 – 4 years:
– Birth registrations have increased from 25% in 1998 to 72% in
2005
– Immunisation coverage has increased from 63% in 1998 to over
90% in 2005
– 90% of births take place in a health facility
– 86% of eligible 0 – 4 year olds receive a Child Support Grant
– The per capita subsidy has increased for children in ECD centres
as well as the number of children receiving the subsidy
The mandate of the Department of
Education
• Main focus of Department of Education is to ensure quality of
‘educational experience’ in community sites through ensuring
– Quality of programmes, and
– Quality of training of practitioners
• Providing a quality programme for the sites
– Developed National Early Learning and Development
Standards
– Developed materials for parents and caregivers on how to
stimulate their child/ren
• Ensuring quality of practitioners
– 6 684 practitioners currently in training across the country.
Major challenges
• Lack of accurate and verifiable data on ECD sites
across the country. This limits Department of Basic
Education’s ability to
– audit practitioner numbers and competency levels
– Cost and mount a realistic practitioner development
programme;
– Plan, develop and distribute adequate support materials for
enhanced programmes at the sites;
• Lack of proper monitoring of the basic requirements
for practitioners towards quality practice.
GRADE R
Meeting the target of Universal Access by 2010
• Universal access to Grade R inclusive of both provision in
public and community sites;
• Accurate data not easy to get and current coverage is deduced
from the average enrolment in Grades 1, 2 and 3 in the
previous year;
• In June 2009 national picture indicated 77% coverage;
• Indications are that KZN almost at universal coverage already
and that most provinces could meet target by 2010;
• 5 provinces already at 80% coverage;
• Gauteng the one province where coverage is ‘challenged’ –
currently below 50%;
• Planning already to have met target by 2014.
Increasing access to QUALITY
• EFA Monitoring report of 2005 puts the
following key indicators at the center:
– Quality Programmes
– Adequate Resources
– Qualified teachers
Towards Quality Programmes
• Focus on two key areas
– Management of sites
– Practitioner support
• Management of Grade R sites:
– Key criteria/standards developed for quality sites;
• Practitioners Support:
– Grade R Practical Ideas ( book of ideas and activities)
developed;
– Milestones document to guide and sequence child
development to be sent out to all schools by November.
Resources
• Grade R Resource Kit to be out in all schools
with grade R by November, comprising:
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62 page story book with 20 stories
20 wall charts
80 reproducable worksheets
32 page learner resource book
80 page book of lessons
Assessment guideline and activities
A 48 page teacher’s guide
Working against achieving the dream
• Adequate budget
• Conditions of service of ‘practitioners’
• Teacher qualifications
Current Status
• Practitioners
– ECD viewed as a continuum from 0 – 9 yrs internationally
and in SA, but overwhelming majority of
‘practitioners/teachers’ working in Grade R not qualified
for employment as educators (but used as such in many
schools across the country);
– Current entry requirement NQF Level 4 qualification; in
community sites an un-enforced Level 1 qualification as
requirement;
– Inadequate salaries and unattractive/unacceptable
conditions of service
– Lack of career path – no clear qualifications pathway
Areas of priority focus
• On qualifications
– Develop a Qualification pathway: Complete a 360
credit Level 6 Diploma in Education followed by a
Bachelor of Education in Foundation Phase
• On Conditions of Service
– Agree on minimum stipend to be paid per month
– Ensure regular payment