In her humble home in Colesberg Masakhane Township, Nosiphiwo Afrika is more than delighted to hear of the Department of Basic Education’s (DBE) new strategy for early learning. For years, this is what she and some five women – unemployed side-hustlers running an early childhood facility from inside Afrika’s house – have been knocking on doors, sending out impassioned pleas for funding, and simply praying for. Finally, it seems their prayers have been heard.
In its 2030 Strategy for Early Childhood Development, the DEB notes that ‘when primary caregivers, usually women,
can access childcare they are also able to work. Conversely, mothers who cannot access childcare are often caught in a downward spiral of labour market exclusion and low income.’ For many of Afrika’s clients; single moms mainly eking out minimal survival in the informal sector or in the ubiquitous Community Works Programme, services similar to those provided by Afrika would otherwise be inaccessible to them.
For a monthly fee of R350, women like Kholeka rise early, slip into their orange CWP overalls and drop off their children in places pretty much like Afrika’s as they go to earn a below-living wage. These are usually nothing exceptional, just a spare room with colourful chairs, toys, a television set and a nutritious meal. Their frugality notwithstanding, the invaluable role they play in impoverished communities cannot be downplayed.
Due to red tape, many of these informal facilities have to rely on the small fees they charge, as well as bulk buying from local grocers to feed the kids and stay afloat. The two established creches operating in Kuyasa cannot meet the demand of a fast-growing population and expanding township. It would be difficult for a poor child in, let’s say, Riemvasmaak to make the daily trek. And the tedious run-around for funding, excessive inspections (which, though necessary appear to be honouring regulations but clearly at the expense of the children) often means that many of these start-ups ultimately end up closing their doors.
This is the fate that has met Kholeka Pongwana. Her facility in which she and her business partner Nomawethu Makhunza accommodated some 32 kids providing two meals throughout the day has finally been forced to close. The funding was not coming fast enough and one’s own pocket can only carry you so far, not least when you’re unemployed.
According to the 2021 General Household Survey (GHS), ‘1.3 million 3-5 year-olds who would most benefit from access to structured early learning opportunities, are not currently attending
an ELP’ (Early Learning Programme). The survey clearly indicates that this is linked to income with ‘66% of children in Quintile 1 are not in ELPs compared to
only 36% of children in Quintile 5.’
The DBE’s own Census 2021 found that of the 42 420 (although other data numbers them at 66 000) Early Learning Programmes in the country, 40% operate from residential buildings. The document further admits that regulation, lacking funding as well as failure to offer sustainable jobs in the sector pose as major impediments. Last year, eParkeni wrote an article on this, noting how this was affecting ECD educators in Colesberg’s Kuyasa Township. Furthermore the document recognises that ELPs are crucial to a young child’s future prospects and development ‘in a range of settings, and that it is the presence of certain programme features that determine quality, more than the modality or venue [my emphasis].’
This is where the DBE’s ‘new service delivery model’ might appeal to Afrika and the various informal ECDs dotted throughout the township. ‘In order to achieve the required rate of growth,’ reads the document, ‘and in line with the DBE’s principles of equity and redress, there will be a need for ELPs to make use of existing premises, including residential venues.’ Although the DBE envisions a long-term goal towards purpose-built facilities, we know that these things take time if, for instance, one considers the decades-long wait for the total eradication of pit latrines in schools.
Furthermore, 1.3million 3-5 year olds are currently not attending an ELP. Invariably this means that this group of children is lagging behind those who get this essential head start. Would this then not somewhat explain the damning finding by the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study which in 2021 found that a shocking 81% of Grade 4 learners in South Africa couldn’t read for meaning in any language. That said, it was also found that English and Afrikaans schools were not affected by this decline, further evidence that much of the regression is in coloured or black underprivileged communities.
For Afrika and her cohorts, the DBE’s intention to subsidise each child by an annual R4.675 in 2024 would go more than a long way in not only keeping their facility running but in perhaps lowering the monthly fees of parents who struggle financially.
Of course, like its preceding variants, this new strategy is merely on paper. On September 2021 the Polokwane High Court called for the eradication of pit latrines throughout the country’s public schools. Yet by 2023, there were still more than 3000 schools who relied on these, making the department’s commitment to totally eradicating them by 2025 highly unlikely.
However, for Afrika, even though the wait has been long, alongside her colleagues their resolve has not waned. Daily, they offer relief to dozens of parents who want nothing but to give their children a chance at a better future. As things stand, they rely solely on the small fee they charge, which is not much, but does ensure that the child is well-taken care off, fed and learns something while in their care. For their sake, and the sake of thousands of other day moms who’ve been unsuccessfully waiting on government to come to their aid, may they never suffer the fate that has struck Ms Sandi. ‘Every Child Matters’ reads the DBE’s subheading; may that prove to be more than just words on a page.