We call on government to include Early Childhood Development (ECD) operators in South Africa in their R500 billion Covid-19 relief plan. The absence of this support will result in massive closures of these operators, which will have dire consequences for the ECD workforce, the children who attend these programmes and the caregivers who rely on them to enable their participation in the labour market.
A new report, The Plight of the ECD Workforce, finds that 68% of ECD operators (including ECD centres, playgroups, day mothers and other early learning programmes) are worried that they will not be able to reopen after the lockdown because 99% reported that caregivers have stopped paying fees after the nationwide closures on 18th March. This is because these programmes primarily serve poor and vulnerable communities, whose household incomes have been severely constrained by the crisis. As a result, 83% of operators have not be able to pay full staff salaries and 96% reported that their income was not enough to cover their operating costs.
The report was 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 is based on a survey of 3,952 ECD operators conducted in mid-April 2020.
30 000 ECD operators serving our most poor and vulnerable communities could close
It is estimated that as many as 30,000 ECD operators serving poor communities in South Africa run the risk of closure as a result of the Covid-19 crisis. This means that up to 175,000 people will be left unemployed and 1.5 million children without early learning services or safe place of day care. In turn their caregivers will be unable to participate in the labour market, which is critical for economic recovery.
While the Department of Social Development financially supports a subset of ECD operators that are registered - and are working on continuing this support over the lockdown - this support only reaches around 30% of ECD operators.
We commend the President’s commitment to ensuring that women and the most vulnerable in our society are supported. The vast majority of at-risk ECD programmes are owned and run by black women, who are already marginalised because our society equates childcare with low status and low pay.
“The operators most at risk of closure are situated in our poorest communities and providing an essential early learning service and safe day care to the most vulnerable children in South Africa.”
“Therefore, 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 at-risk ECD operators excluded from formal avenues for support
Most ECD programmes operate in a semi-informal manner. The report found only 45% were registered with SARS, 13% as companies (CIPC), and only 35% of their workforce was registered for UIF (Unemployment Insurance Fund), with most salaries below minimum wage. As a result of straddling the informal economy, ECD operators and their workforce thus find themselves unable to access many of the relief schemes currently on offer.
Two options are available to the state
The report proposes two options for how the state can support the ECD sector during this time:
1. Support to the ECD workforce
The report proposes that 118,000 – 175,000 ECD workers at risk for losing income each receive R1 000 a month in income supplementation for a 6-month period.
2. Support to ECD operators
Alternatively, the report proposes that 20,000 – 30,000 ECD operators each receive R6 000 a month for a 6-month period. As a result:
- 20 000 - 30 000 ECD providers will continue operating
- 118 000 - 175 00 ECD worker jobs will be sustained
- 1 million - 1.5 million children will have an ECD programme to attend
- 1 million - 1.5 million caregivers, primarily poor women, will have childcare available to them to look for income opportunities
“President Cyril Ramaphosa has taken decisive and fast action to respond to the spread of Covid-19 virus, and has been applauded both locally and internationally for his leadership,” said Sumaya Hendricks of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
“We urge him to now extend this action to the people working in the ECD sector who face extraordinary hardship in the months to come. Their role in ECD forms part of the foundation of our education system, the well-being of tomorrow’s workforce, and South Africa’s joint prosperity in the future.”
ENDS
For Media Enquiries: Kneo Mokgopa, Nelson Mandela Foundation, kneom@nelsonmandela.org, 076 420 1910.
Please find attached the full report and summary of The Plight of the ECD Workforce, published in April 2020, by BRIDGE, Ilifa Labantwana, National ECD Alliance (NECDA), the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Smartstart and the South African Congress for Early Childhood Development (SACECD).
About the organisations:
BRIDGE
South African Congress for Early Childhood Development (SACECD) [21 000 ECD Centres]
Ilifa Labantwana
National ECD Alliance (NECDA) [103 member organisations]
Nelson Mandela Foundation
Smartstart [4 000 member operators]