Educational inequalities are strongly associated with socio-economic (and therefore also racial) inequalities in South Africa.
1 These inequalities are evident from the early years, even before entry into primary school.
2 They are exacerbated by an unequal schooling system,
3 and are difficult to reverse. But early inequalities can be reduced through pre-school exposure to developmentally appropriate activities and programmes that stimulate cognitive development.
4 Evidence suggests that quality group learning programmes are beneficial for cognitive development from about three years of age.
5 Provided that they are of good quality, early learning programmes are an important mechanism to interrupt the cycle of inequality by reducing socio-economic differences in learning potential between children before they enter the foundation phase of schooling.
The National Development Plan (NDP) priorities, cited in the DBE’s 2030 ECD Strategy,
6 include universal access to two years of early childhood development programmes. The DBE funds and monitors thousands of private and community-based ELPs in addition to the school-based Grade R classes. The NDP proposes the introduction of a second year of pre-school education, and that both years be made universally accessible to children.
7 It therefore makes sense to monitor enrolment in learning programmes for children in the 5 – 6-year age group.
According to the DBE’s administrative data, 768,000 learners were attending Grade R at ordinary schools in early 2022, of whom 94% were in public (government) schools. Of the 24,000 learners attending pre-Grade R at ordinary schools, just over half (56%) were enrolled in independent schools, while 94% of Grade R learners were at public (government schools).
8 These would include some private ECD centres which are registered as schools, but would exclude many other independent and unregistered facilities. Government schools are therefore already providing the large bulk of education services for children in Grade R, but not for pre-Grade R.
In 2019, 93% of children (nearly 2.2 million) in the pre-school age group (5 – 6-year-olds) were reported to be attending some kind of educational facility, mostly in Grade R or Grade 1. This was double the 2002 level, signifying substantial gains in access to ELPs over the years. Unlike many other child indicators, this measure of ECD access is not associated with significant inequalities across provinces.
Similar patterns were found in analyses of the 2007 Community Survey and the 2008 National Income Dynamics Study, which also did not find strong provincial disparities.
9 Given the inequalities in South Africa, it was also pleasing to see that as access to education increased among 5 – 6-year-olds, the inequalities across races and income quintiles reduced.
The effect of COVID-19 and lockdown on early learning was dramatic: the year 2020 saw a rapid reversal of the gains made over nearly two decades in early learning access for 5 – 6-year-olds. Young children could not attend ELPs during lockdown because of the closure of schools and ECD centres. The impacts extended later in the year due to administrative challenges in registering and funding the reopening of school. In late 2020, when the GHS was conducted, only 33% of children aged 5 – 6 were attending any kind of educational centre, down 60 percentage points from 93% from the year before. Alongside the sharp fall in attendance was an apparent increase in racial inequality in ECD access (60% of White children aged 5 – 6 years were reported to be accessing some kind of learning facility, compared with only 33% of African and 26% of Coloured children). Similarly, income inequalities became more pronounced, with attendance rates ranging from 28% in the poorest income quintile to 43% in the wealthiest quintile.
Attendance rates rose again after 2020, and by 2022 the pre-lockdown attendance rate had been regained, with 91% of 5 – 6-year-olds reported to be attending early learning programmes. The inequalities across income quintiles and races had also reduced.
This indicator tells us nothing about the quality of care and education that young children receive at educational facilities or the resources available at those facilities. Attendance provides a unique opportunity because almost all children in an age cohort can be reached at a particularly important developmental stage; but this is a lost opportunity if the service is of poor quality.
1 See, for example, Lam D, Ardington A, Leibbrandt M. Schooling as a lottery: Racial differences in school advancement in urban South Africa. Journal of Development Economics. 2011, 95:133-136.
S van der Berg, C Burger, R Burger, M de Vos, M Gustafsson, E Moses, . . . D von Fintel. Low Quality Education as a Poverty Trap. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University. 2011.
2 Hall K, Sambu W, Almeleh C, Mabaso K, Giese S, Proudlock P. South African Early Childhood Review 2019. Cape Town: Children's Institute, UCT and Ilifa Labantwana. 2019.
3 Spaull N. Poverty & privilege: Primary school inequality in South Africa. International Journal of Educational Development. 2013, 33(54):436-477.
South African Human Rights Commission, UNICEF. Poverty Traps and Social Exclusion among Children in South Africa 2014. Pretoria: SAHRC and UNICEF. 2014.
4 Heckman J. Skill formation and the economics of investing in disadvantaged children. Science. 2006, 312:1900-1902.
Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Education Quality. Learner Preschool Exposure and Achievement in South Africa. SACMEQ Policy Brief No. 4, April 2011. Pretoria: Ministry of Education. 2011.
5 Engel P, Black M, Behrman J, Mello Md, Gerler P, Kapiriri L, . . . International Child Development Steering Group I. Strategies to avoid the loss of developmental potential in more than 200 million children in the development world. The Lancet. 2007, 369(9557):2229-2242.
6 Department of Basic Education. South Africa's 2030 Strategy for Early Childhood Development Programmes. Pretoria: DBE. 2023.
7 National Planning Commission. National Development Plan - Vision for 2030. Pretoria: The Presidency. 2012.
8 Department of Basic Education. School Realities 2022. Pretoria: DBE. 2023.
9 Gustafsson M. Policy Note on Pre-primary Schooling: An Empirical Contribution to the 2009 Medium Term Strategic Framework. Stellenbosch Economic Working Papers 05/10. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University. 2010.