Early Childhood Development Centre (ECD) practitioners in Klerksdorp, North West are struggling to access their stipends as a result they are battling to manage the institutions financially. Their problems started after the ECDs were shifted from the department of social development to the provincial department of education. Last week Basic Education minister Angie Motshekga visited the province and found that over 2 400 ECDs had yet to receive stipends and this has been going on since April when they first migrated. Lerato Mosegedi from the Perseverance day care center in Jouberton challenged the department to visit her center and see how hard it is to cope without financial assistance. She said the place is too small and that she needed financial support to do improvements and enlarge the space. “We want the government to remember that working with children is hard and that we develop them and prepare them for the foundation phase.”
When the decision was made to transfer ECD facilities to the department of basic education, the government said it would be able to track service delivery issues and improvements until 2030 to track quality and access gaps for children. But Mpho Sekwati, who manages Mmabana Day Care Center in Jouberton, said she has yet to receive a government stipend. “I survive only on school fees and food contributions from certain parents,” she said. Another ECD in that area that has been in operation for four years reported that its employees were struggling financially. According to the entity, the department of education promised R17 per day for each enrolled child, which must be divided into 50% for food, 30% for employee compensation, and 20% for administration and operations. A staff member who feared she might be victimised for speaking out said they appreciated receiving the money until the migration process started and payments stopped. “Workers and crèche founders expected government help. Due to parents not paying school fees on time, many staff members go home with much lower salaries,” she said.
The provincial education department’s spokesperson, Elias Malindi, said his department had visited the institutions to evaluate compliance. According to Malindi, the department has begun examining practitioners’ bank accounts and business plans and that some still need improvements. “We are in the process of assisting them to get proper business plans and also to open their accounts, and we are also taking them through a finance management course because we believe that it is important for everyone, whenever you get the money for the government, you should be able to account for it,” he said. Malindi said his department was busy assisting the ECDS and assuring them that as soon as possible, all those who have passed through the process will get their financial assistance.
