Improving quality of Early Childhood Development

September 2021, Boshof Solar Power.

Research demonstrates that Early Childhood Development (ECD) is at the heart of improving our country’s level of education and the best way to do this, is to improve the training and qualifications of ECD practitioners.  In support of this, Boshof Solar Power’s first ever cohort of Practitioners, in the Boshof area, have commenced their 2-year NQF Level 4 ECD training.

One of the Practitioners, Zelda Moremi, is from Leretlhabetse Educare Centre, in Boshof, where she has been working for the last five years. This mother of two, speaks with warmth and enthusiasm about working with children, knowing that she is helping them to learn and develop.

“I believe ECD is important because it provides an essential contribution in the lives of young children at a time in their lives that it will make a big difference on their future education and overall development,” said Zelda Moremi.

Zelda added, explaining the importance of starting her training last month, which is also the first time ever that she has had an opportunity to study, “This training is very important to me, as I now have a clear vision of where I am going in my career. It is the first stepping stone and I hope to study further afterwards too.”

As part of Boshof Solar Power’s overall ECD programme, this training programme aims to ultimately uplift ECD practitioner qualifications to a required level, for all teaching staff, across all thirteen ECD centres that the solar plant supports, within its beneficiary communities of Boshof and Hertzogville.

The training doesn’t only benefit the children that the practitioners teach, but the improved level of qualification additionally improves the earning potential of the beneficiaries as well, as explained by Zelda. “I am grateful that this qualification will hopefully improve my income and that I’ll be able to support my family and improve our overall lifestyle.”

“Our ECD Programme works to advance childhood development in the target areas by providing training. Furthermore, management training is being provided for three facilities, with a focus on compliance and ECD centre governance, so that we not only look to uplift the teaching quality, but work towards a long term vision, to ensure that ECD centres move from being day care facilities to centres of education and development that are sustainable and can offer the best care possible,” concluded Zuki Ndlela, Economic Development Officer for Boshof Solar Power.