The Departments of Basic Education (DBE) and Social Development (DSD) briefed the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on the 2025 Children's Amendment Act on 10 June 2025. The joint presentation was led by Basic Education Deputy Minister, Dr Reginah Mhaule, DDG for Delivery and Support, Ms Simoné Geyer and Dr Janeli Kotze, Acting Director for ECD to provide an overview of the Act's objectives, including streamlining the registration process for ECD programmes, and clarifying the roles of various departments to enhance service delivery.
The Children’s Act became law in 2005. Chapter 5 of the Act deals with partial care facilities, setting out requirements for the registration and funding of partial care, whilst Chapter 6 deals with ECD programmes, setting out requirements for the registration and funding. The 2022 Presidential Proclamation that effected the function shift from the DSD to the DBE handed the responsibility of these chapters to the Minister of Basic Education. However, the current regulatory framework introduced through the Act undermines DBE’s central goal of closing the early learning access and quality gaps by creating an onerous and exclusionary registration and funding scheme.
Dr Kotze explained that, “the Children’s Amendment Act will ensure a single, integrated registration process and that the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) for children aged 0-4 are placed on a statutory footing; the streamlining of norms and standards; and the consistent use of conditional registration as a progressive pathway into the regulatory net. The Bill will eliminate overlapping regulations and clarify the role of the Department of Health (DoH), in setting and implementing health and safety standards. The role of municipalities in maintaining ECD facilities and ensuring compliance with regulations was also under discussion, along with specific provisions for nutrition access for children in ECD programmes”.
The DBE received the draft Children’s Amendment Bill from the DSD after it went through the Portfolio Committee for Social Development’s public comment stage. The DSD, DoH, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) served on the Technical Task Team on the drafting of the Bill. The Bill has been approved by DBE structures, including the Council for Education Ministers (CEM) and the DBE is awaiting Office of the Chief State Law Advisor (OCSLA) certification. Pending Cabinet approval, the Bill will be introduced to Parliament. The norms and standards will be reviewed during 2025.
Funding has been addressed through the increased budget allocation in 2025 and PEDs are responsible for the record-keeping of ECD programmes. In respect of implementation readiness, the DBE has developed support materials to enable ECD practitioners with the implementation of the NCF from 0 – 4, with PEDs and support partners currently training practitioners on implementation. The digitised registration system (eCares) has already been introduced through the Bana Pele Mass Registration Drive, allowing for real-time monitoring of ECD programme registration. Overall, the meeting underscored the collaborative effort required to effectively implement the Children's Amendment Act and the need for ongoing dialogue amongst stakeholders to address the challenges identified.