Bill to make 2 schooling years before Grade 1 compulsory
The Basic Education Amendment Bill, which pronounces on the matter, will be tabled in Parliament this year.
BASIC Education Minister Angie Motshekga says the department will table a bill this year that will make two schooling years before Grade 1 compulsory.
Motshekga said this when she participated in a debate on the State of the Nation Address (SONA) in the National Assembly on Tuesday.
“We are in the process of declaring the two years prior to Grade 1 compulsory. The Basic Education Amendment Bill, which pronounces on this, will be tabled in Parliament this year,” she said.
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Motshekga said the Ministries of Social Development and Basic Education are at an advanced stage in moving the Early Childhood Development function from the Department of Social Development to the Department of Basic Education, with transitional arrangements already determined.
Under the guidance of the Office of the Chief State Law Advisors, two main proclamations have been drafted. One is a national proclamation to be signed by the President, and the other is a provincial proclamation to be signed by Premiers from each province.
“We are in the process of finalising the National Framework for ECD, which we will release for broad consultations early in the 2020/21 financial year. Guided by the Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC), we are determining the financial and human resource implications of an integrated ECD programme at local, provincial and national levels. We are in the process of conducting a readiness assessment of the DBE [Department of Basic Education] readiness to receive and effectively deliver the ECD function,” said Motshekga.
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