Pretoria - Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres in rural areas of the North West are to get a R15 million make-over.
The project will be rolled out in four districts - Ngaka Modiri Molema, Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati, Bojanala and Dr Kenneth Kaunda - where 160 centres have been assessed for provision of equipment and 98 for minor renovations.
The North West Health and Social Development Department said the project aims to assist partial care facilities that cannot meet the registration requirements.
It also aims to improve conditions in facilities in terms of renovations and the provision of indoor and outdoor equipment to ensure that the environment is conducive for the care and protection of children and to provide appropriate school readiness programmes.
"The focus of the project is on deprived wards in the province in terms of the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy and the Poverty Eradication Strategy," said the department.
In response to the national call of massifying ECD services throughout the country, the provincial department has resolved to sponsor 200 more ECD centres per annum, adding to 360 of 849 centres currently being subsidised.
The department has also been working to register over 500 unregistered ECD centres which are currently operating in the province.
"The Chapter 5 of the Childrens Act 38 of 2005 requires every person who takes care of more than six children on behalf of their parents or caregiver during specific hours of the day or night, must register as a partial care facility."
The department firmly believes that every child has the right to the best possible start in life and that early childhood (0 to 9 yrs) represents the most critical phase in the development cycle of human beings and ECD services are recognised as the ideal phase for the passing on of values that are important for the building of a peaceful, prosperous and democratic society.
