State subsidy can help transform a child’s future – but ECD programmes must register to be eligible to access it and other support
“If Africa is to seize its moment and replicate the success of economies like China’s, it must start with ensuring that every child, regardless of their background, has access to quality early childhood education (ECD).”
Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube, speaking at a recent ECD funders’ breakfast event in support of Bana Pele, a groundbreaking initiative to transform South Africa’s ECD sector, made a clarion call for the business sector to join hands with the government and ensure a brighter future not only for children, but the entire country.
It is a unique South African social compact, in that it comprises a partnership between the government, the private sector and non-governmental organisations to address the country’s woeful ECD situation.
For ECD centres to access state subsidies and support through the 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 of unregistered centres. Bana Pele is a three-part initiative comprising application, compliance and registration. (Watch a video about Bana Pele here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHS0TruQyyg)
For Christina Grisselda Madlala, of Asbonge Day Care in Carletonville, Gauteng, providing facilities, care and learning support to the small children she looks after is a daily struggle – but Bana Pele is helping to change all that for her.
“It was my prayer each and every day to say, ‘God help me, I don’t know how to do this thing.’ We got an invitation from the social workers; they said we must come to the hall for a meeting. They told us about Bana Pele – so it was perfect for us. They said no one will be left behind,” says Madlala. She is now bronze-registered, and must now comply with the next level of registration – silver – to be eligible for a vital R17-a-day child subsidy.
“When they phoned and told me that I got bronze, I said my prayers have been answered … Bana Pele came to me and I grabbed it.”
“The reality is that only a fraction of ECD centres are formally registered and adequately resourced, particularly in rural and underprivileged areas. This deficit in early learning opportunities threatens to derail our growth potential as a nation and undermines our ability to prepare our youth for the demands of a changing world,” said Minister Gwarube at the breakfast event, hosted by Bana Pele partners the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust and Investec at the latter’s offices in Sandton, Johannesburg.
She continued, “The private sector holds a unique and powerful position in shaping the trajectory of our education system. Drawing on stakeholder theory of value and embedded systems theory, it is clear that business does not exist in isolation; it is deeply embedded within the broader societal ecosystem …
“I call upon all business partners represented here today to take a bold step forward in supporting early childhood development 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 an education system that equips every child with the tools to succeed.”
Thrive by Five, a three-yearly study initiated in 2021 by the DBE and partners, shows that around 1.3-million three- to five-year-olds are not in any form of early learning programme, and of children who are, only 45% are regarded as on track in terms of cognitive development; children in the poorest 60% of homes, in particular, 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 South Africa, at least half of which were unregistered, missing out on DBE resources and support to ensure children are benefiting from quality early learning programmes; it is likely that more exist. Bana Pele aims to register 20 000 ECD programmes across South Africa by December 2025.
Also speaking at the breakfast, Oppenheimer Memorial Trust CEO Tracey Webster stated, “South Africa is the most unequal and inequitable country in the world. The Gini coefficient is the highest in the world, sitting at 63 (where 0 denotes perfect equality and 100 perfect inequality). And sadly, this inequality is reflected in our education system. Simply put, apartheid is 100% entrenched in our education system. It has to end with us and it stops today. We have to end it.
“And the only way we can overcome our horrendous past is to tackle this systemically. We have to fix this problem once and for all, and ensure that every child in South Africa has access to quality education. What does that mean for the individual child in South Africa? Realistically, what does this inequality look like? Well, out of 10 children, only three-and-a-half children have access to an early learning programme.”
Far-sighted private sector entities are stepping into the breach and supporting Bana Pele with funding, expertise and people – but more, much more, is needed. Funding of up to R150-million is required for two vital elements.
Firstly, health and safety support packs are needed for an estimated 10 000 ECD programmes, to address compliance and safety gaps and implement childcare activities; these include fire protection, first aid, childcare essentials and hygiene items. Secondly, many ECD programmes require infrastructure support of between R30 000 and R150 000, including safe sanitation and water, safe structures and adequate environments for children.
So far, Yellowwoods has committed R10-million and the FEM Education Foundation a further R20-million to Bana Pele, with a potential R30-million more in the pipeline, leaving a shortfall of up to R90-million.
Bana Pele’s crucial mass registration drive (MRD) aims at formally registering such ECD programmes, principally in low-income communities, which will allow them to unlock government support to improve their facilities and be eligible to access the R17-a-day state subsidy for each child in their care. As many as a million children lack access to this subsidy.
“What makes Bana Pele unprecedented is how the partners are collaborating,” says Nomsa Muthaphuli, ECD & Youth Fund manager at the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, who has herself been seconded to the MRD project management unit.
“Where in the past partners were expected to only support government activities, now we are also involved: we are both funders of and participants in creating lasting transformation in ECD. Representing one of those participants, I see exactly 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 child and ensuring a thriving economy, Muthaphuli continues: “Indeed, Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman has demonstrated that the highest rate of economic return for a nation – between 7% and 10% – comes from investment in children’s earliest years.
“The impact of ECD on a country’s gross domestic product, and on further education and skills development, in particular STEM skills, is unquestionable.”
Setlogane Manchidi, Head of Corporate Social Investment at Investec South Africa, says, “While our corporate social investment strategy and associated efforts have, in the main, been focused on supporting high school maths and science education as well as the facilitation of access to quality tertiary education, we recognise the significance of early childhood education in laying a solid foundation for future learning.
“We are excited about this partnership, given our belief that when we give children the best start in life, we contribute towards creating enduring worth by improving their chances of active economic inclusion and a better quality of life.”
An innovative financial model has been developed to manage the money committed to Bana Pele, to ensure that it gets to where it is needed, at scale and in a coordinated way: an independent central infrastructure fund, for which discussions are under way for this to be managed on behalf of all the social compact funders by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).
Apart from guaranteed probity and ringfencing this money for what it is intended to support – Bana Pele – this funding model will test how private money can leverage public investment. Right now, the fiscus has allocated an additional R539-million per annum to child subsidies and this pooled fund can ensure that it is fully allocated.
“Through this incredible initiative, and the strong partnerships that have been built between the department and partners, we have significant momentum to achieve the vision of achieving universal access to quality early learning by 2030,” says Janeli Kotzé, acting director: ECD at the DBE.
“But for our collaborative approach and our shared vision to be sustained, at this critical moment and into the future, we need the private sector more than ever to join us. I appeal to all South African companies that have not yet done so, to place children first – Bana Pele – because they are the bedrock of our future.”
