Pretoria - Poor children who receive grants tend to stay at school for longer and perform better compared to poor children who get no financial support at all, says the Department of Social Development.
The Conference on Orphans, Children and Youth made vulnerable by HIV and Aids, which is currently underway in Durban, heard that improved financial stability, facilitated by social grants, improves children’s school going behaviour.
Fred Ssewamala, a University of Columbia Associate Professor of Social Work and International Affairs, presented research findings from Uganda arguing that poor children who receive financial support also tend to perform better at school.
Manager at the Department of Social Development, Thabani Buthelezi, also supported the professor’s view. Buthelezi presented findings of South African child support grant on poor children. The independent survey, commissioned by the department, found that a child who received a grant was more likely to receive better results at school, notably at mathematics, among others.
For government, the policy implication was that the child support grant must be extended to reach all poor households in the country.
In its budget vote earlier this month, the department announced that a total of R113 billion of the department’s R120 billion budget will go towards the payment of social assistance grants.
Earlier, the conference heard that vulnerable children, especially those born with HIV, needed greater psychosocial support to assist them cope better with their conditions and circumstances and supplement social grants.
Chief Director for HIV and Aids programmes at the department, Dr Connie Kganakga, said while the good work done by government in extending social grant assistance to vulnerable children was acknowledged by the conference, it was important that more attention be given to psychosocial support.
“There was also agreement that improvement is required in the provision of psychosocial support. Children born HIV positive need long term counselling from psychologists and social support from social workers.
“Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be enough psychologists. Hence, the department is training child and youth care workers to meet part of this demand,” explained Kganakga.
The conference, which will conclude on Thursday, is held as part of the commemoration of the National Child Protection Week (CPW), which began on Monday.
CPW is marked in the country annually to raise awareness of the rights of children as articulated in the Children's Act of 2005. The campaign, which began in 1997, also aims to mobilise all sectors of society and communities in the effort of ensuring care and protection for children. - SAnews.gov.za
