Taking Bana Pele to Eastern Cape, Free State and Western Cape
In August, the Minister of Basic Education, Ms Siviwe Gwarube, attended two registration clinics in the Eastern Cape and Free State, respectively. Over 70 practitioners applied for registration at both clinics, and 6 excited and dedicated practitioners received their Bronze certificates from Minister in the Free State.
Takalani Sesame entertained the children with the Elmo costume character, songs and dances, and play stalls.
During the registration clinics in the Eastern Cape and Free State, the Minister read to eager children using the latest ECD books launched by Bookdash in partnership with the DBE and UNICEF. These books are free to download and available in all South African languages. Children were excited and engaged, posing interesting questions and responses about the story.
On the 19th of September 2025, Minister attended a registration clinic at Play and Learn ECD in Eerste Rivier.
She once again engaged with parents and practitioners, handed out Bronze certificates, attended the registration clinic, played with the children at the Takalani Sesame play stall and read a story book entitled “Tata Kom Huis Toe”.
In her address to parents and practitioners she said:
“Some people say that only matric results matter. Foundation phase is important because you cannot just focus on the ceiling of the house when you have a very unstable foundation. When you look at a house, you must make sure that the foundation is solid because then your house will stand strong. When talking about education, we can’t just say it’s about Grade 1-12, it begins from 0 years all the way to lifelong learning. To the parents, give your children the opportunity to learn from a young age and the investment of sending your child to an early learning centre will set them up for life.”
Our next leg of the campaign will take us to Gauteng in October followed by our final leg in KZN, North West and Limpopo in November, concluding the national community campaign.
From left to right:
S.I. Maseko – Rams Day Care, K.P. Seape – Maitemogelo Day Care, L. De Beer – Kid Zone ECD, Minister of Basic Education, Ms. Siviwe Gwarube, M.B. Makomotoane – Angels Day Care, R.M. Julius – Fledging ECD, M.S. Jansen – Unathi Day Care
