ECD Management Information System report launched

WINDHOEK, 12 MAR (NAMPA) - The Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare on Wednesday launched the 2024 Early Childhood Development Management Information System report, which revealed that kindergarten children in rural Namibia lack access to basic needs.
The report, presented by the ministry’s Deputy Director of Community Development Loide Velishavo, indicated that the majority of children under the age of eight have limited access to essential services such as healthcare, nutrition, and early education.
The report, supported by the European Union and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef) also shows that in 2024, a total 110 726 children were registered at 3 866 Early Childhood Development Centres (ECD) around the country.
“There is a shortage of trained edu-carers and resources, along with insufficient teaching and learning materials, which hinder effective early childhood education care. There is also insufficient involvement and commitment from key stakeholders in driving ECD initiatives. We also observed a mismatch in curriculum, in that children between the ages of five and eight in ECD centres are being taught using a curriculum designed for ages 0-4,” Velishavo said.
On his part, the Head of Cooperation at the European Union (EU) Delegation in Namibia, Federico Berna said the EU’s ECD sector budget support programme is N.dollars 320 million.
“We disburse funds based on progress made in a number of performance indicators addressing access, quality and equity in ECD and pre-primary education. In total, the EU has already disbursed around N.dollars 140 million. The funds are directed to support the government in building new classrooms, especially for pre-primary education, in training edu-carers and staff, introducing school feeding system to ECDs and in the general coordination and governance of the sector,” Berna said.
Deputy Minister of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare, Bernadette Jagger said the results of the report will guide the ministry in addressing challenges and improving service delivery.
“Over the years, we have successfully produced six ECD survey reports covering the years 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. These reports serve as a critical data source, enabling evidence-based decision-making at national, ministerial, partnership and stakeholder levels,” Jagger said.
(NAMPA)
EB/EK/AS