A call for an urgent “new dawn” for Early Childhood Development has been made – as the Department of Basic Education officially takes the reins of South Africa’s ECD sector.
This is the call being made by the Indaba Institute, a teacher training centre outside Stellenbosch which has pioneered a new, internationally-accredited ECD teacher training course specifically
for those who teach children aged 0 – 6.
In a historic move that has drawn praise from the Indaba Institute, President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed Proclamations which officially move the responsibility for Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres from the Department of Social Development (DSD) to the Department of Basic Education (DBE) from Friday April 1.
“I believe investment in the earliest years of a child’s life is the greatest investment our society can make in our future,” states Indaba Institute chairman André Shearer. “The profound impacts of early childhood development and education are beyond any doubt.”
Shearer is supported by leading international experts, such as James Heckman, Nobel Laureate for the Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, who wrote bluntly: “Those seeking to reduce
deficits and strengthen the economy should make significant investments in early childhood education.”
Shearer has been a fierce advocate of quality ECD for several years, leading him to establish the Institute.
“Research shows this is a critical phase. Brain development and brain plasticity prior to around the age of five is absolutely singular in its importance for human development. Early childhood
development, when implemented properly, allows for an open architecture – they learn to concentrate, they learn to love to learn and they learn to take charge of their lives with great relish.
We believe one of the most vital next evolutions is how we tackle the education of the youngest humans on the planet. And this needs quality ECD teaching. The missing link is often the actual training of these teachers. Training ECD teachers is becoming our most vitally important priority, at the Indaba Institute.
“Early childhood development is an investment in what our future society can be like. Research from Harvard University tells us the biggest precursor to adult-onset disease profiles comes from the stresses and traumas experienced in early childhood. The World Bank will tell you the single biggest return on investment for a society is investing in early childhood development. If early childhood development flourishes, it will allow a new society to emerge,” Shearer argues passionately.
Indaba Institute Director Jasmine Jacob reflected: “Imagine a country where every child has the foundations for numeracy literacy and who believe that they, regardless of their skin colour, background, gender, ability they have the potential to succeed – and realise that they are enough.
In South Africa, we know that teachers who are passionate and committed to child and community development are not always supported in working with children from all walks of life. We are also aware that the ways of teaching and learning that can address challenges like this have been inaccessible to those in our society that need it most. Quality education does not belong in a single community. Every child has the right to achieve their full potential and every teacher can become a guide to support the child in doing so.”
“This project has shown us how with locally relevant, high quality teacher training in partnership with private sector and local government we can make quality education accessible to all communities. And in this way, social justice becomes possible,” Jacob said.
