President Ramaphosa to open Bana Pele ECD Leadership Summit

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Monday, 17 March 2025, officially open the Bana Pele Early Childhood Development (ECD) Leadership Summit at the Atlas Studios in Johannesburg.
 
The Bana Pele Roadmap Leadership Summit has been co-convened by the Department of Basic Education, together with Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA).

The Summit aims to mobilise a public and private coalition behind the DBE’s 2030 ECD Roadmap for quality, universal access to early learning.
 
In South Africa, more than 1.3 million children are not enrolled in any form of early childhood development (ECD) programme, leaving them without the foundational literacy and numeracy skills required to succeed in school. 

This learning gap affects their ability to take on critical subjects such as Mathematics, Science, Accounting, and Economics in later years, which are the skills that are vital for innovation, economic growth, and job creation.
 
The summit will bring together government, business, civil society, and education experts to construct a roadmap for universal access to quality ECD across the country. 

This initiative is a crucial step toward ensuring that every child, regardless of background, has access to the early learning opportunities they need to thrive in life.
 
The engagement will take place as follows:
Date: Monday, 17 March 2025
Time: 09h00
Venue: Atlas Studios, 33 Frost Avenue, Braamfontein, Johannesburg
 

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to President Ramaphosa - Media@presidency.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria