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ECD Bill should be a priority for new basic education minister – our children’s futures depend on it

ECD Bill should be a priority for new basic education minister – our children’s futures depend on it
Nurina Ally, Sanja Bornman and Tess Peacock
By Nurina Ally, Sanja Bornman and Tess Peacock
2 Jul 2024
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With Parliament set to start its new term, and a new administration at the helm, swift finalisation of the draft Children’s Amendment Bill should be a clear priority.

Supporting young children in their early years is one of the most potent human capital investments that a country can make. It is essential for children’s growth and development, and can break the cycle of poverty and inequality in South Africa. 

Currently, only a third of children under six are accessing early childhood development (ECD) programmes, despite ECD being a national priority. Many of these programmes are not registered and the majority do not receive state subsidies. This is largely because ECD programmes across the country, many in the poorest and most under-resourced communities, battle a complicated and expensive registration process to access funding support. 

For years, the ECD sector has called for a more enabling legal framework, to eliminate unnecessary red tape and bring more ECD programmes into the regulatory fold. In 2020, proposed amendments to the Children’s Act, which would have made it more difficult for ECD programmes to register and obtain much-needed government support, were roundly rejected by ECD stakeholders. 

To its credit, the Department of Basic Education engaged with the sector’s calls for reform, and in May this year published the draft Children’s Amendment Bill. The proposed amendments embrace a more developmental and enabling approach to the regulation of this critical sector and have been welcomed by ECD stakeholders. It is now crucial for the new minister of basic education to champion the finalisation of the law reform process.

One of the most significant improvements is the proposed scrapping of a burdensome double registration requirement for ECD programmes. At present, ECD programmes must register twice – both as a partial care facility and as an ECD programme. This requirement creates an administrative nightmare for ECD providers, and places pressure on already-strained regulators. In a welcome move, the bill delinks ECD programmes from partial care and creates a one-step registration process. This seismic shift will make it easier for ECD providers (mostly women servicing disadvantaged communities) to navigate the registration process, unlocking possibilities for state support and improving overall regulation.  

Registration process simplified


The draft bill’s simplification of the registration process is coupled with a second important innovation. For the first time in South Africa, legislation will shift away from a “one-size-fits-all” approach to ECD programme regulation. Instead, the draft bill recognises different types of ECD programmes, ranging from parent support groups, play groups, child minders and toy libraries, to mobile programmes, outreach programmes, and ECD centres. These programmes will have different registration requirements and may then be eligible for funding support. Acknowledging the varying needs and requirements of these programmes can make the regulatory framework more responsive to realities on the ground. 

Significant barriers to registration also lie at the local government level. The introduction of a model draft by-law, as proposed by the draft bill, will provide best-practice guidance to municipalities on how to streamline and differentiate local government compliance requirements for ECD programmes in a developmental manner. A model draft by-law will also be an important advocacy tool for the ECD sector to help ensure that local government works for ECD. 

Commendably, the draft bill mandates that all crèches and nursery schools implement an early learning routine or curriculum to ensure young children’s cognitive development at this critical stage in their lives. This means that mere childcare will no longer suffice. However, by requiring conformity to a particular curriculum framework, the draft bill may stifle alternative educational programmes, which is clearly not the intention. From a child rights perspective, it is significant that the draft bill explicitly centres the need to develop norms and standards that support children with disabilities and promote child protection.

Under-resourced providers will benefit from various proposed amendments that are geared towards a staged approach to ECD regulation. There will, for example, be more clarity on the framework for conditional registration, which will allow providers to access necessary support in order to improve their programmes and move towards full registration. Similarly, provisions requiring municipal strategies to make available and maintain private and public facilities for ECD have the potential to expand infrastructure resources available to providers at the local level. Together with reforms that strengthen strategic planning and data collection, the draft bill makes some headway into building a more coherent and coordinated framework nationally, provincially, and locally.

There are aspects of the draft bill that can and should be improved. But on the whole, the Department of Basic Education should be applauded for making strides in the right direction. With Parliament set to start its new term, and a new administration at the helm, swift finalisation of the bill should be a clear priority. Our children’s futures, and the future of South Africa, depend on it. DM

Nurina Ally is the Director of the Centre for Law and Society and Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Cape Town. Sanja Bornman is a Gender Law and Policy Specialist, and Associate at Ilifa Labantwana. Tess Peacock is the Director of the Equality Collective and steering committee member of the Real Reform for ECD movement.

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