SITEKI – Only 51 per cent of preschools in Eswatini comply with Ministry of Education standards, leaving 49 per cent still requiring support to meet the required regulations.
The Ministry of Education and Training says it is working towards ensuring that all early childhood care and development (ECCD) centres comply, emphasising that the intention is to assist non-compliant centres rather than close them down.
This was revealed by Inspector ECCDE, Winile Tsabedze during the two-day Ministry of Education and World Bank Project Media Engagement Session held at Simunye Country Club, where media practitioners and stakeholders gathered to discuss strengthening basic education and early childhood development for human capital development in Eswatini.
The engagement session focused on improving learning outcomes and sharing progress on the project.
During the session, Tsabedze explained that the ECCD mapping exercise, conducted around June this year, was intended to establish the status of early childhood education facilities across the country.
The exercise seeks to identify areas without adequate ECCD centres, assess their resource needs, establish teachers’ qualifications and determine whether the centres are registered and complying with ministry requirements.
According to Tsabedze, the mapping exercise identified approximately 1 523 ECCD centres countrywide.
She further explained that the exercise was necessary to identify communities without sufficient access to early childhood education, enabling government to plan interventions to ensure that children receive early learning before entering primary school.
It also seeks to establish whether centres have basic facilities such as toilets, water, classrooms, indoor learning materials and outdoor play equipment.
The information would help the ministry identify gaps and direct resources to centres that need assistance.
Teacher qualifications were also highlighted as a major concern, with Tsabedze emphasising that teaching at preschool level requires relevant professional qualifications.
She further noted that there was a misconception that anyone could teach young children, including people who had dropped out of school at Form Three level or those holding qualifications such as a Primary Teachers’ Diploma (PTD).
However, Tsabedze said it wanted appropriately qualified teachers in ECCD centres and was assessing their qualifications to determine where further training and support were required.
The mapping exercise also seeks to strengthen registration and compliance as the number of privately operated preschools continues to increase.
She further said it was not conducting the exercise to shut down non-compliant centres but to help them understand and meet the standards required for registration and operation.
Another objective is to establish a reliable national ECCD database containing information on the number of centres and children enrolled, including their ages.
Such information would assist government and other stakeholders, including those providing health services, to plan interventions based on accurate figures.
Meanwhile, Tsabedze reported progress in strengthening early childhood education through the development and distribution of learning materials and teacher training.
The development of the ECCD curriculum is almost complete, with Grade Zero learning materials expected to be presented to the board panel for review.
The materials include storybooks, teachers’ guides, syllabuses and workbooks. The ministry expects the Grade Zero materials to be finalised by the end of December, paving the way for teacher training in January.
It was further reported that outdoor learning equipment had started being installed at primary schools offering Grade Zero classes.
She also said this would ensure that learners in public schools also benefit from outdoor play facilities, similar to those available in private institutions.
In addition, assessment tools have been developed to monitor the quality of early childhood education.
These include the LME tool, which assesses learners’ developmental milestones, and the Engage tool, which evaluates classroom environments and teaching practices.
The second round of assessments is currently under way, with 91 ECCD centres having been assessed so far. Preliminary results indicate a slight increase in the number of children attending early childhood education centres.
Tsabedze also reported that indoor learning materials had been delivered to 340 Grade Zero classrooms in primary schools.
