The spokesperson at the department, Lehuma Nthuane, said owing to the fact that schools were filled to capacity, the department then had to resort to asking parents to send their children to accredited community-based centres in the province.

Nthuane said the keyword in this regard was “accredited” and urged parents to ensure that the centres they will be taking their children to, have qualified teachers and have a curriculum in line with the Department’s. “We are referring them to registered community-based centres. They are registered and they are teaching these kids as per the curriculum that’s been outlined for Grade R learners. It’s not like we are saying they (the parents) must go to unregistered crèches or daycare centres. The ones we’ve referred the children to, are registered centres that are in our database system and the teachers and educators there are qualified,” Nthuane said. He further said that there were over 50 registered community-based centres, many of whom receive training and ongoing support from the provincial Department.

While he added that he understands the parents’ concerns with the qualifications of these teachers, Nthuane said that the department has collaborated with various stakeholders, including technical, vocational, education and training colleges to ensure that many of its registered Grade R practitioners are graduates in this respective field. “Last year, 90 Grade R practitioners graduated, while in April this year, we are expecting a further 41. So the capacity is there, but again, provided parents opt for registered centres,” Nthuane said.

Furthermore, he added that early childhood development would be high on the provincial department’s priority list as it plans the training of 352 Grade R practitioners in four districts (namely Frances Baard, Pixley Ka Seme, John Toalo Gaetsewe and ZF Mgcawu) in the province on Basic Concepts in Mathematics. “We piloted this programme in the Namakwa District over a period of three years, and will roll it out to the other districts during this financial year,” he concluded.

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