A delegation of senior DBE officials, led by Ms Simoné Geyer, DDG for Delivery and Support, briefed the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education in Cape Town on 18 February 2025, providing an updated status report on Early Childhood Development (ECD) integration and the Grade R implementation processes in public schools in line with the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act. Grade R is now a compulsory grade, as part of the Foundation Phase in the public schooling system.
Dr Janeli Kotze, Acting Director for ECD presented the 2030 Strategy for ECD Programmes and the 2025 priorities for implementation to ensure universal access to quality ECD. The 2030 vision is to register 10,000 ECD programmes at a Silver or Gold level to enable them to apply for the ECD subsidy. In addition, the ECD Outcomes Fund will be launched to increase access to an estimated 88,000 children. The Children’s Amendment Bill will also be introduced to Parliament to create a more enabling environment for expanding access and improving quality in the ECD sector.
“During 2024, the DBE redesigned and digitised the registration process of the Bana Pele Mass Registration Drive to ensure a streamlined process to enable all unregistered ECD programmes to become registered. The DBE has developed a complete digital application process through the Early Childhood Administration and Reporting System (eCares). Since launching the first phase of the new process in Gauteng during August 2024, 1,605 new ECD programmes have become registered, and the Free State and Western Cape are also now fully live in their process, with the other provinces coming on board systematically during February. Through the collaborative efforts between the DBE and the ECD sector, the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, Investec, Federated Employers Mutual Assurance Education Foundation (FEMEF), the Development Bank Southern Africa, Yellowwoods and a coalition of other funders, the DBE is confident that the Bana Pele Mass Registration Drive will be a major success,” she said.
Ms Kulula Manona, Chief Director for Foundations for Learning, announced that an ECD Summit is being planned for March 2025.
South Africa started the process of introducing Grade R for 5-year-olds as the first year of the Foundation Phase of primary school education during 2001. The full implementation results in 10 years of compulsory education in the General Education and Training (GET) band and 13 years education in the Further Education and Training (FET) band. During the briefing Ms Maureen Modiba, Director for GET, explained that, “Grade R, also known as Reception year, is aimed at providing a play-based approach to social, emotional, physical and cognitive development and learning. This includes basic numeracy concepts, problem-solving skills, acquisition of language, perceptual motor skills and proficiency in learning to read, write and do number work. The curriculum offered will include Mother Tongue Instruction and Home Language teaching in all three subjects (Home Language, Mathematics and Life Skills). The teaching of a First Additional Language (FAL), in most cases, English (FAL) is not applicable in Grade R. Mathematics will consist of Numbers, operations and relationships, Patterns, functions and algebra; Space and shapes; Measurement; and Data Handling. Life Skills will include Beginning Knowledge; Personal and social well-being; Physical education; and Creative arts. The acquisition of basic numeracy; problem solving; language acquisition; and perpetual motor skills during play-based learning, will contribute to the holistic development of the young learner”.