Only one in three registered ECD centres receive subsidy they’re entitled to

style="font-weight: 400;">webinar hosted with Grace Matlhape, CEO of SmartStart, and Tshepo Mantjé, children’s rights activist and early childhood development (ECD) advocate at the Equality Collective.

After breastfeeding exclusively for six months, children should be fed nutrient-dense meals frequently, she pointed out. However, this is not always possible in South Africa because of high levels of inequality and poverty.  

South Africa’s last census reveals that there are 6 million children under the age of four, but “access to early learning opportunities [is] out of reach for 48%” of them.

Read more: How investing in early childhood development sets up children for a lifetime of success

Getting under-sixes in the system 

“Two-thirds of all of South Africa’s children live in the poorest 40% of our population. And so we’re talking about a system of structural exclusion of children on many fronts,” Matlhape said. 

Mantjé, who speaks to ECD practitioners through the  Real Reform for Early Childhood Development platform, said he has been hearing stories in rural Eastern Cape, northern KwaZulu-Natal and Rustenburg in North West “where practitioners have had to pull food out of their own kitchens, take food from their own families so that they can feed the young children in front of them”. 

Mantjé noted that by the time a child turns six, almost all their brain has grown. Resourcing early childhood development is crucial, so that children are on track to thrive, he said. 

Matlhape said one of the reasons children fell through the cracks in South Africa is that there are not enough ECD centres. 

She said SmartStart approaches this issue in three ways:

• Identifying areas to recruit, train, and support practitioners;
• Raising awareness about the importance of the first five years of a child’s development; and
• Working with organisations and government departments to put a spotlight on the policy and legislative systems.

What does ECD look like in SA? 

ECD centres have largely been an informal sector,  where women in communities respond to needs without state support, Mantjé said. 

In 2020, the responsibility for ECD was transferred from the Department of Social Development to the Department of Basic Education, he noted.

Mantjé added that section 28 of the Constitution “clearly states that the state has a responsibility, or rather, young children have the right to basic nutrition”.  

“It is an immediately realisable right, unlike many other rights in the Constitution, which are raised in a way to say everyone has the right to access such a thing.” 

Getting budget to the centres 

Mantjé noted that the Department of Basic Education feeds 9 million children in schools every day. This happens on government property, with kitchens and food handlers. However, the ECD sector does not have storage, kitchens or capacity for food handlers, he said. 

The 2025 Budget increased the ECD subsidy from R17 per child per day to R24, to support increased access to ECD for 700, 000 more children, up to the age of five years. 

Matlhape said the R10-billion allocation was an important step. “It closes a big gap. It helps. It’s a bold step. It enables plenty. It’s not going to be the full answer, as huge amounts of centres are unregistered.” 

She said the mass registration drive, called Bana Pele ECD, is a crucial step, allowing ECD centres to register as bronze, silver or gold. 

The move to silver assumes infrastructure support. Silver is the point where the R24 per child per day will flow in, she said. 

“But there are organisations that are looking at very creative ways of supporting urban agriculture in communities.  […] What we require is a government system that will connect the dots and ensure that all children are reached,” Matlhape said. 

Mantjé suggested provincial procurement. “We suggest collaborations with schools close by, where the centres can connect to a school and get the food in this way,” he said. 

What can we do? 

Mantjé advocated for active citizenry, where South Africans participate in community ECD centres and engage with local government. 

“This R10-billion is not going to go to all the centres, because only 41% of centres are registered. So you only have to be registered to get the subsidy. But even worse, of the 41% of centres registered, only 33% are reported to be getting a subsidy.” 

He said South Africans must shout about the need for a nutrition programme, send letters and post on social media to the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and Minister Siviwe Gwarube, and engage with parliamentarians. 

The National Treasury allocated money for a nutrition programme in the 2024/25 financial year, and there was no plan or one put in place, he said. There was a reallocation for the 2025/26 financial year. 

“We are in October of 2025, with the financial year coming to an end in March of 2026, and we still don’t have a plan for a nutrition pilot programme,” Mantjé added. 

Matlhape said zero rating essential foods may improve access to nutrition for the poorest communities. 

“This is not just a DBE challenge; it truly is a South African challenge. There’s a role for every sector, and food inflation is high. The poorer you are, the bigger the proportion of your weekly wages goes to two things: food and transport,” she said. 

Mantjé said recent research shows that children at high-paying ECD centres are twice as likely to be on track with the developmental milestones than those that are in low-fee ECD centres. 

“Already there is inequality for young children that’s as little as four years old, experiencing the inequality of the systemic failures of the country.” DM