The Bana Pele ECD Registration Drive is making headway in provinces, with more Early Childhood Development (ECD) programmes coming forward to apply to reach the ideal registration status, which guarantees them receipt of the necessary Government support. This week, the Minister of Basic Education, Ms Siviwe Gwarube, oversaw the fourth of the provincial Bana Pele ECD registration clinics, which took place at the Thuto Imdaad ECD Centre in Bloemfontein, Free State on 14 August 2025.

During the Free State clinic, Minister Gwarube got a first-hand account of the state of ECD institutionalisation in the province, including systemic bottlenecks that may hinder programmes from full registration. Minister Gwarube also engaged ECD practitioners and caregivers on matters relating to functionality of ECD programmes, including financial and personnel resourcing. She explained the importance of ensuring that ECD programmes comply with not only legislation, but also the standard of ECD curriculum delivery. “An ECD registration process at the gold level is necessary because it will assist the Basic Education Sector to have a meaningful intervention in improving quality learning outcomes across the Basic Education Sector, focusing on children from 0 to 10 years of age. Following the ECD shift from the Department of Social Development (DSD) to the Department of Basic Education (DBE), many people speculated that the Government was intending to close unregistered ECD centres in communities. I would like to inform you that the Government has no plan to shut down any ECD centre. We only expect you to register so that we can help you to deliver quality learning and teaching smarter and better,” explained Minister Gwarube.

With Takalani Sesame supporting her, Minister Gwarube conducted an interactive reading session with the children at the Thuso Imdaad ECD Centre and applauded the management for prioritising a reading culture and learning through play. “Your work is more than preparing children for formal schooling, it is the foundation upon which lifelong learning, creativity, productivity, and well-being are built. I also encourage you to take more advantage of multilingual education, as it is key to grooming children for proper articulation in other learning areas as they move to higher grades,” she said. 

Help with registration continues to be available after the registration clinics. In every province, local NGOs with relationships with ECD programmes are invited to support the mass registration drive through communications and awareness to their networks —including ECD programme owners, and providing support with applications, document completion and uploads, and also site compliance.