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One of the main hurdles facing ECD in South Africa concerns children’s access to good ECD services. Early Childhood Development (ECD) refers to the physical, emotional, social and cognitive development of children aged birth to nine years, both within and outside the family.
Some young children grow up in environments and circumstances where parents are able to devote considerable time to their children’s early education needs. In these homes, books, magazines, and newspapers are readily available and are read to children. Counting games and pre-numeracy activities also take place, which encourages the development of numeracy skills.
But for families where poverty abounds, the situation is very different. Stretched for time and resources, these parents are not able to provide their children with an optimal environment for the development of literacy and numeracy. This problem is further exacerbated because schools in poor and rural areas often lack the resources and capacity to provide quality early learning provision.
A nationwide ECD survey in 2000, led by the Centre for Early Childhood Development, found that 23 482 early learning sites provided services for 1 030 473 young children, of which more than 90% was provided by community groups. This represents 17% of the birth to six-year-old population, and means that 83% of children under the age of six years – 5, 3 million children – do not benefit from a structured early learning programme in a positive learning environment. This means that 5,3 million children will enter Grade 1 not having experienced even one year of a structured learning programme.
While the government has acknowledged the importance of ECD, it has been slow to take the lead in service delivery, rather viewing early childhood development as the responsibility of the family and local community. More direct financial and policy support from all levels of government are needed if the educational and developmental needs of young children are going to be met.
International research, corroborated by a number of South African studies, shows empirical evidence that good quality early childhood development experiences produce significant social, economic and developmental benefits to children, families and communities.
A child who attends a good quality early learning programme enters formal schooling:
- More confident
- More likely to proceed through school without repeating a grade
- Less likely to need remedial education
- Less likely to be involved in crime
- More likely to find paid employment as an adult
In addition, young girls who attend early learning programmes are less likely to become pregnant while in their teens.
High quality early childhood development programmes help to break the cycle of poverty that grips our country, but this requires a commitment from all sectors of our society – from government to individuals.
Everyone has an important role to play in prioritising early childhood development and ensuring that our country’s future leaders have the skills they need to succeed.
What you can do
- Volunteer at or financially support crèches and preschools in your area
- Speak to your local and provincial government representatives about what they are doing to support the ECD Sector and the Children’s Bill
- Ask the people you employ if their children are in ECD programmes, and if not, support their enrolment
Such actions will make a lasting investment into the future of South Africa’s future leaders.
In South Africa we have come a long way this past decade regarding the number of initiatives affecting the lives of young children, however, we still have a long way to go before we can truly say that we are putting young children first.
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This feature article is brought to you by The Centre for Early Childhood Development
Since 1994, the Centre for Early Childhood Development (CECD) has worked to improve the access to and quality of early childhood development services available to children aged 0 to 9 years, in mostly under resourced areas. CECD works with government, communities, and individuals to capacitate, train and equip ECD Centres around the country.
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