President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Monday officially open the Bana Pele Early Childhood Development (ECD) Leadership Summit at the Atlas Studios, in Johannesburg.
The summit, convened by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA), aims to mobilise a public and private coalition behind the DBE’s 2030 ECD Roadmap for quality, universal access to early learning.
In a statement on Saturday, The Presidency noted that in South Africa, more than 1.3 million children are not enrolled in any form of ECD programme, leaving them without the foundational literacy and numeracy skills required to succeed in school.
“This learning gap affects their ability to take on critical subjects, such as Mathematics, Science, Accounting, and Economics in later years, which are the skills that are vital for innovation, economic growth, and job creation,” the Presidency said.
The summit will bring together government, business, civil society and education experts to “construct a roadmap for universal access to quality ECD across the country.
“This initiative is a crucial step toward ensuring that every child, regardless of background, has access to the early learning opportunities they need to thrive in life,” the Presidency said. – SAnews.gov.za
