In its efforts to improve socioeconomic status and improving quality education and care for children aged from birth to age 4 four (0-4 years), the North West Department of Education has established 40 Early Childhood Development (ECD) pocket centres of excellence across the four districts, 10 per district.
These pocket centres of excellence are fully built ECD facilities that are built in brick-and-mortar structures, are registered, maintained with ECD guidelines and are compliant with the norms and standards.
The pocket centres are not new but are used as a model of a proper functional ECD for others to follow the same requirements and curriculum.
The MEC for Education, Viola Motsumi emphasized that the 40 ECD pocket centres of excellence will provide temporary jobs across the province.
“There are some ECDs which are not registered and with these 40 we are piloting, we wish to encourage those unregistered ECD centres to follow this requirement to be fully registered.
“The department is going to employ three people per centre, and the overall number of temporary jobs will be 120. Each ECD centre should have a storyteller,
administrator and gardener”, said MEC Motsumi.
The department will be embarking on a roadshow across the province to advocate for the registration of ECDs. The roadshow will run as follows:
*Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District: Vryburg: Times Lodge on 18 July 2023 at 10:00*
*Dr Kenneth Kaunda District: Ngwenya City Hotel on 19 July 2023 at 09:00*
*Bojanala District: Orion Hotel on 20 July 2023 at 09:00*
*Ngaka Modiri Molema District: Thatch Haven Guesthouse in Mafikeng on 21 July 2023 at 09:00*
These roadshows will be followed by the main launch which will be in September. Further details will be communicated.
In 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa proclaimed the transfer of Early Childhood Development from the Social Development Department to Department of Basic Education.
The ECD function officially shifted to Education on 01 April 2022.
Members of the media are invited to cover the roadshow.
For more information please contact:
Mphata Molokwane
Departmental Spokesperson
Cell: 0829793638
