We know from research that the first 1,000 days of a child’s life are crucial in ensuring that children are well-developed and school-ready. We live in a country where many children at preschool level depend on creches and ECD centres as their primary source of stimulation for development.
Since schools and ECD centres are closed, these children now depend entirely on the home environment to provide the stimulation they need to continue with their development and learning. There have been commendable efforts to make learning resources available to parents and children during the lockdown, but these resources are online. There is still a large portion of our nation that lacks access to material that is online.
The complete article is available on the Daily Maverick website.