EARLY childhood development centres will be allowed to reopen as questions arise over the fate of private centres attached to schools after the department of education pushed back reopening dates.
On Friday, Deputy Minister for the Department of Basic Education Dr Reginah Mhaule announced that pupils will return to the classroom for the 2021 year on February 15.
The DA has sought clarity on the fate of pre-Grade Rs linked to schools who will also return to classrooms in February.
“South Africa cannot have a repeat of last year’s debacle, the DA therefore urges (Social Development) Minister Lindiwe Zulu to urgently provide clarity of private ECDs (early childhood development centres) and partial-care facilities opening in 2021 which falls within the ambit of social development,” said the party’s Alexandra Abrahams.
“ECDs have been successfully following the Covid-19 Health and Safety regulations as well as the DSD (Department of Social Development) Standard Operating Procedure which was implemented last year. The ripple effect of keeping private ECDs and partial-care facilities closed are far reaching, affecting parents who must go to work, ECD practitioners and staff who must earn an income,” added Abrahams.
Zulu told the Weekend Argus: “The big problem was the opening of the ECDs even during the most difficult times because of the fact that many of the children especially from poor communities have to go to those ECDs for food.”
“The ECDs are open and must remain open subject to the Covid-19 measures in place and we as DSD are providing PPE’s (Personal Protective Equipment) and other relevant support, I actually think that my department must upscale the support that we give to the ECDs because we have to work with the Department of Basic Education and Higher Education but the issue for us is the ECD programme must remain open.”
Zulu said work needs to now continue in ensuring that ECDs across the provinces are monitored and evaluated to ensure they comply with protocols.
“We’ve lost a lot of time already for what the children would have received at ECD both from an academic point of view, their growth mentally and otherwise, we lost a whole year,” she said.
“Those who had already opened and they didn’t close they need to have an appreciation for the current challenges which means they need to pay even extra attention than they did in the first wave.”
SA Congress for ECDs Western Cape chairperson Melissa Jacobs said pre-Grade R classes housed in schools normally fall under the department of education and would likely have to follow the department’s directive to only reopen in a month’s time.
“Most ECDs have reopened as parents returned to work this week and our understanding is that they will remain open until DSD tells us otherwise,” she said.
“The scenario would differ obviously for private facilities but we will have to wait for the gazette to see what the details are. But the reality remains that parents need to return to work and ECDs are there not only for educational purposes but to offer child-care services.
“But the sector faces challenges as well where in order for teachers to get paid children need to be in centres where their parents pay fees but reopening puts those teachers at risk.”