![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/sa-children.jpg?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n16 September 2025 | 09:00 CAT
\n2-minute read<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
More than half of South Africa\u2019s four-year-olds are already behind on key developmental milestones, a national survey has revealed\u2014underscoring how inequality and poor nutrition shape children\u2019s futures long before they reach a classroom.<\/p>\n
The 2024 Thrive by Five Index, released this month by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and partners including the University of the Witwatersrand and Innovation Edge, assessed a nationally representative sample of preschoolers across all nine provinces. It found that only 42% of children enrolled in early learning programmes are on track in cognitive, physical, and social-emotional development.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an alarming, alarming statistic because we would assume that because those children are at the centre, they are getting the developmental support they need,\u201d said Tshepo Mantj\u00e9, Right to ECD Coordinator, in an interview<\/a> on Radio Islam International.<\/p>\n Researchers measured fine and gross motor skills, problem-solving abilities and social interactions\u2014milestones widely recognised as predictors of school readiness. The findings mirror earlier warnings from UNICEF and local NGOs that South Africa\u2019s youngest citizens face persistent stunting and malnutrition. National data show that nearly 27 percent of children under five are stunted, a condition linked to long-term cognitive delays.<\/p>\n Mantj\u00e9 stressed that simply enrolling children in preschools is not enough.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat this reveals is that access is not enough. What we also have to solve for is quality,\u201d he said, highlighting that children in high-fee programmes are twice as likely to meet developmental targets as those in low-fee settings.<\/p>\n Historically, early childhood development (ECD) has been informal and largely unregulated, with many backyard cr\u00e8ches operating without oversight. The DBE assumed responsibility for ECD in 2020 and has begun a mass registration drive\u2014known as Bana Pele\u2014to enforce minimum norms and standards and improve practitioner training.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to recognise that early childhood development is not necessarily about a place the child goes to, but it is this period of time between conception and six years old,\u201d Mantj\u00e9 noted. \u201cParents themselves are the first teachers of young children and need to be supporting their development.\u201d<\/p>\n Experts argue that better funding, nutrition support, and parental involvement are critical. The National Development Plan sets a target of universal access to quality ECD by 2030, but progress remains uneven. Without urgent action, the Thrive by Five data warn, South Africa risks entrenching inequality before children even enter Grade 1\u2014a cost the country can ill afford.<\/p>\n