Many childcare centres might not reopen after lockdown
A survey conducted in April estimates that nearly 1,5 million young children will not be able to return to crèches, pre-school and daycare centres well after the nationwide lockdown has been lifted.
Immense job losses in the Early Childhood Development (ECD) sector coupled with the imminent closure of various crèches, pre-schools and ECD centres, will see thousands of young children without care once the nationwide lockdown is lifted.
Charmaine Botha, an educational specialist and the CEO of EDUX SA, says parents’ inability to pay school fees has directly resulted in thousands of job losses.
Some 30 000 ECD centre operators, employing 175 000 workers countrywide, now stand the risk of imminent closure should government not assist them urgently. This might leave some 1,5 million children who currently attend playgroups, ECD centres, daycare and other early learning programmes without carers, and their working mothers without anyone to take care of their children while earning a salary.
These findings were listed in a report on a survey done during April on the plight of the ECD workforce, issued by BRIDGE, Ilifa Labantwana, National ECD Alliance (NECDA), the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Smartstart and the South African Congress for Early Childhood Development (SACECD).
The report analysed the responses from 3 952 ECD centre operators which employed 24 877 workers who cared for 214 277 children, representing roughly 10% of ECD operators in the country.
Botha formed part of the task team that conducted the survey, and says ECD centres, especially the non-subsidised ones, are currently not receiving any form of income. “By September, when these centres will probably be due to reopen, most of them would have closed their doors and more than a million children will be without care and stranded without government intervention.”
The study revealed that 99% of ECD operators reported that parents had stopped paying fees completely as household income has been constrained by the effects of the lockdown on the job market. A total of 83% of operators had not been able to pay the full salaries of staff over the lockdown period, while 96% reported that their income was not enough to pay their operating costs. Of all ECD centre operators, 68% were worried that they would not be able to reopen after the lockdown while 35% stated they were facing the risk of closure.
The Department of Social Development financially supports some 30% of registered ECD operators.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation in a statement said they commend the president’s commitment to ensuring that women and the most vulnerable in society are supported, and that the vast majority of at-risk ECD programmes are owned and run by black women, who are already marginalised as society equates childcare with low status and low pay.
“These ECD operators must be specifically targeted for support in the Covid-19 economic and social relief plan,” said Leonard Saul, the Chief Executive Officer of the South African Congress for ECD.
Most ECD programmes operate in a semi-informal manner and it was found that only 45% were registered with SARS, 13% as companies (CIPC), and only 35% of their workers were registered for UIF (Unemployment Insurance Fund), while most salaries are below minimum wage. ECD operators and their workforce thus find themselves unable to access many of the relief schemes currently offered by government.
The report proposes that the state could support the ECD sector during this time by supplementing 118 000 to 175 000 ECD workers at risk because of a loss of income, to each receive R1 000 a month for a six-month period, or that between 20 000 and 30 000 ECD operators each receive R6 000 a month for a six-month period to enable them to keep operating and sustain jobs.
It is argued that ECD forms part of the foundation of the education system, the well-being of tomorrow’s workforce, and South Africa’s joint prosperity in the future.
The current situation is, however, expected to continue for months, even after the lockdown is lifted. Reduced household income will mean parents may remain constrained in their ability to pay fees for ECD services.
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