In response, the Department of Basic Education has launched a nationwide campaign aimed at registering 10 000 ECD centres by the end of the year.

Gwarube says collaboration with civil society and the private sector is key to ensuring that every child under the age of five has access to foundational learning.

“In fact, earlier this week I was in the North West with the assistance of the French Embassy. We launched about 100 centres of excellence. They’ve identified 100 ECD centres and committed to helping train the practitioners, which is really incredible,” she said. “Now we know that 100 centres in the North West province have fully trained practitioners. I visited a number of them and the progress is just incredible.”

The department says the initiative forms part of a broader strategy to address early learning inequalities and ensure that no child is left behind.

--Channel Africa--