SeducationThe time to
SeducationThe time to act is nowIMinister calls on private sector to help ensure that every child has access to early childhood education.“If Africa is to seize its moment and replicate the success ofeconomies like China’s, it must start with ensuring that every child,regardless of their background, has access to quality early childhoodeducation (ECD).”Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, speaking at arecent ECD funders’ breakfast event in support of Bana Pele, agroundbreaking initiative to transform South Africa’s ECD sector,made a clarion call for the business sector to join hands with thegovernment and ensure a brighter future for the entire country.Bana Pele is a unique South African social compact, in that itcomprises a partnership between the government, the private sectorand non-governmental organisations to address the country’s woefulECD situation.For ECD centres to access state subsidies and support throughthe Department of Basic Education’s (DBE) ECD 2030 Strategy,they must be officially registered. But few are – and Bana Pele(Setswana for “Children First”) is working to regularise thousands ofunregistered centres. Bana Pele is a three-part initiative comprisingapplication, compliance and registration.For Christina Madlala of Asbonge Day Care in Carletonville,Gauteng, providing facilities, care and learning support to thechildren she looks after is a daily struggle – but Bana Pele is helpingto change all that for her.“We were invited to meet with the social workers who told us aboutBana Pele. It was perfect for us. They said no-one will be left behind,”says Madlala. She is bronze-registered and must now comply with thenext level of registration – silver – to be eligible for a vital R17-a-daychild subsidy.“The reality is that only a fraction of ECD centres are formallyregistered and adequately resourced, particularly in rural andunderprivileged areas. This deficit in early learning opportunitiesthreatens to derail our growth potential as a nation and underminesour ability to prepare our youth for the demands of a changingworld,” said Minister Gwarube at the event hosted by Bana Pelepartners, Oppenheimer Memorial Trust and Investec.“The private sector holds a unique and powerful positionin shaping the trajectory of our education system. Drawing onstakeholder theory of value and embedded systems theory, businessdoes not exist in isolation; it is deeply embedded within the broadersocietal ecosystem.“I call upon all business partners represented here today to takea bold step forward in supporting ECD through partnerships,sponsorships and skills development initiatives. The time to act is now– let us be intentional, strategic and bold in our ambition to create aneducation system that equips every child with the tools to succeed.”Thrive by Five, a three-yearly study initiated in 2021 by the DBEand partners, shows that around 1.3-million three- to five-year-oldchildren are not in any form of early learning programme, and ofchildren who are, only 45% are regarded as on track in terms ofcognitive development; children in the poorest 60% of homes inparticular are falling far behind the standard expected for their age.Additionally, 5.7% of the children show signs of chronic malnutrition.(The 2024 study’s results have yet to be released.)The ECD Census 2021 counted 42 420 ECD centres across SouthAfrica, at least half of which were unregistered, missing out on DBEresources and support to ensure children are benefiting from qualityearly learning programmes; it is likely that more exist. Bana Peleaims to register 20 000 ECD programmes across South Africa byDecember 2025.Oppenheimer Memorial Trust CEO, Tracey Webster, stated, “SouthAfrica is the most unequal and inequitable country in the world. TheGini coefficient is the highest in the world, sitting at 63 (where 0denotes perfect equality and 100 perfect inequality). And sadly, thisinequality is reflected in our education system. Simply put, apartheidis 100% entrenched in our education system. It must end with us,and it stops today. We must end it.
educationSOppenheimer Memorial Trust CEO Tracey Webster, speaking atthe ECD funders’ event.“The only way we can overcome our horrendous past is totackle this systemically. We must fix this problem once and for alland ensure that every child in South Africa has access to qualityeducation. What does that mean for the individual child in SouthAfrica? Realistically, what does this inequality look like? Well, out of10 children, only three-and-a-half children have access to an earlylearning programme.”Let us be intentional, strategic andbold in our ambition to create aneducation system that equips everychild with the tools to succeed.Far-sighted private sector entities are stepping into the breachand supporting Bana Pele with funding, expertise and people – butmore is needed. Funding of up to R150-million is required for twovital elements.Firstly, health and safety support packs are needed for an estimated10 000 ECD programmes to address compliance and safety gapsand implement childcare activities; these include fire protection,first aid, childcare essentials and hygiene items. Secondly, many ECDprogrammes require infrastructure support of between R30 000 andR150 000, including safe sanitation and water, safe structures andadequate environments for children.So far, Yellowwoods has committed R10-million and the FEMEducation Foundation a further R20-million to Bana Pele, with apotential R30-million more in the pipeline, leaving a shortfall of upto R90-million.Bana Pele’s crucial mass registration drive (MRD) aims at formallyregistering such ECD programmes, principally in low-incomecommunities, which will allow them to unlock government supportto improve their facilities and access the state subsidy for each childin their care. As many as a million children lack access to this subsidy.“What makes Bana Pele unprecedented is how the partners arecollaborating,” says Nomsa Muthaphuli, ECD and youth fund managerat Oppenheimer Memorial Trust. “Where in the past partners wereexpected to only support government activities, now we are alsoMinister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube.involved: we are both funders of and participants in creating lastingtransformation in ECD. Representing one of those participants, I seeexactly how important Bana Pele is – and I see how it can, and will,drive a better, brighter, more prosperous South Africa.”ECD is vital for unlocking the potential of every South African childand ensuring a thriving economy, Muthaphuli continues, “Indeed,Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman demonstrated thatthe highest rate of economic return for a nation – between 7% and10% – comes from investment in children’s earliest years.“The impact of ECD on a country’s gross domestic product, andon further education and skills development, in particular STEMskills, is unquestionable.”Setlogane Manchidi, head of corporate social investment atInvestec South Africa, says, “While our corporate social investmentstrategy and associated efforts have, in the main, been focused onsupporting high-school maths and science education as well as thefacilitation of access to quality tertiary education, we recognise thesignificance of early childhood education in laying a solid foundationfor future learning.“We are excited about this partnership, given our belief that whenwe give children the best start in life, we contribute towards creatingenduring worth by improving their chances of active economicinclusion and a better quality of life.”An innovative financial model has been developed to ensure themoney committed to Bana Pele gets to where it is needed at scale andin a coordinated way: an independent central infrastructure fundthat is managed on behalf of all the social compact funders by theDevelopment Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).Right now, the fiscus has allocated an additional R539-million perannum to child subsidies and this pooled fund can ensure that it isfully allocated.“Through this incredible initiative, and the strong partnershipsthat have been built between the department and partners, we havesignificant momentum to achieve the vision of universal access toquality early learning by 2030,” says Janeli Kotzé, acting director: ECDat the DBE.“But for our collaborative approach and our shared vision to besustained, at this critical moment and into the future, we need theprivate sector more than ever to join us. I appeal to all South Africancompanies that have not yet done so, to place children first – BanaPele – because they are the bedrock of our future.” SService magazine | 31
