Chairperson, Minister of Basic Education, Minister of Higher Education and Training, Deputy Minister of Basic Education, ladies and gentlemen, the African National Congress has made education and training a priority. The aim is to marshal our collective strength to ensure progressive realisation of universal schooling, improving quality education and eliminating disparities. This campaign will then demand major renewal of our schooling and education system.
Chairperson, allow me, before I even continue with my debate, to acknowledge the contribution of all the previous Ministers of Education, starting with Dr Sibusiso Bhengu, Dr Kader Asmal, and Minister Naledi Pandor for the miles we have travelled in laying the good foundation of our children's education.
I am sure that as I am speaking, I am speaking on behalf of our education portfolio committee, and what I am saying is we will work very hard in improving on the good foundation they have laid, working together with our executive in basic education, feeding into higher education.
Chairperson, the ANC-led government has recorded significant achievements since 1994 in transforming our schooling system from its apartheid past. Access to primary and secondary schooling has reached near universal enrolment, with the participation of girls being the highest in the world. The participation rate of children aged four and five, I'm talking of the category of Grade R and the reception class, in early childhood has now reached 70%. However, the most fundamental challenge we face is the need to improve the quality of education in our schools, with an emphasis on effective teaching of literacy and numeracy in most of our primary schools.
There is a general consensus that a child who does not learn the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic will clearly be at a serious disadvantage in all future educational efforts. The critical feature of our developmental state is its ability to lead the skills revolution that is intended to build and develop a human capacity that can respond to the demands of our economy. Therefore, the care and development of infants and young children must be the foundational point in our new society and the starting point for our human resource development strategy.
General access to early childhood development, ECD, will constitute an important step towards lifelong learning. The ultimate goal of early childhood development is to improve young children's capacity to develop and learn.
Chairperson, the government spending on early childhood development was just shy of a billion rand in 2007. Increased spending was set to reach R1,5 billion in 2008. The allocation is projected to rise to R2,9 billion. In addition to this is the National School Nutrition Programme which feeds 1,6 million schoolchildren every day, including all those attending primary schools in 13 rural and eight urban poverty nodes.
We have already seen the positive effects of ECD programmes and their potential to change the development trajectory of children by the time they enter school. A child who is ready for school has less chance of repeating a grade, being placed in special education or being a dropout. That is the reason why, as the ANC, we are saying we need to lay a good foundation for us to prevent all this.
Education for our children must not only be left to educators and caregivers. The ECD interventions include educating and supporting parents, delivering services to children, developing capacity of caregivers and teachers and using mass communication to enhance parents' and caregivers' knowledge and practices. Programmes for children can be centre-based or home-based, formal or informal, and can include parent education.
According to the revised 1996 census statistics, it is estimated that approximately 10 million children fall within the age range of birth to 9 years. It is this group of children that are the focus of the ECD policies. Approximately 40% of young children in South Africa grow up in conditions of abject poverty and neglect, with rural African families being hardest hit.
Children raised in such poor families are most at risk of infant death, low birth weight and underdeveloped growth, poor adjustment to school, increased repetition and school dropouts. This factor makes it even more imperative for the Department of Education to put in place an action plan to address the early learning opportunities of all learners, but especially those living in poverty.
Timely and appropriate interventions can reverse the effects of early deprivation and minimise the development of potential problems for our children. Ours is to break the cycle of poverty by increasing access to early childhood development programmes, particularly for poor children. We cannot afford to continue to deny our children their constitutionally protected right to grow up with dignity and equality.
There is a growing amount of evidence that the largest part of brain development happens before a child reaches three years old and that it is during this period that children develop the abilities to think, speak, learn and reason and lay the foundation for their values and social behaviour as adults. Moreover, there is also growing evidence that children are capable learners and that suitable educational experiences during preschool years can have a positive impact on their school learning.
While there is growing consensus that what happens during these early months and years has dramatic consequences for the rest of childhood and adolescence, our children across the country are most neglected in our policies, programmes and budgets. In our view, the time of early childhood development should merit higher priority attention.
The challenge of ECD provision in South Africa is one of access and equity, and audits conducted by the department reveal that approximately 75% of ECD provision is fee-based, unlike the case with primary schools, where fees play a relatively small role compared to public funding. The financial burden for ECD falls disproportionally on the poor, and the department must take a serious look into this.
Our Constitution provides that every child has a right to basic nutrition, shelter, basic health care, social services and to be protected from maltreatment, neglect, abuse and degradation. It is on this basis that we have resolved to make our children's education of paramount importance in every matter concerning our children.
Chairperson, early childhood development remains one of the most powerful means of accelerating education for all. Early childhood development is the first essential step towards achieving primary completion. [Time expired.] [Applause.]