On Friday, 1 April 2022, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga officially received the Early Childhood Development (ECD) function from the Department of Social Development. The stated intention of the migration is to streamline the delivery of an integrated, aligned service model that will ensure access to quality early learning and development opportunities for all children in South Africa.
The legal effect of the migration is that the Department of Basic Education is now responsible to support, subsidise and regulate all ECD programmes according to the specifications in Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 of the Children’s Act (No. 38 of 2005).
The ISASA Legal and Policy Department has drafted a memorandum to highlight specific aspects of the migration process and share the contact details of the relevant Provincial Education Departments’ officials who can provide further assistance with the registration of pre-primary schools or any other queries.
