BANA PELE: ECD subsidy expands as government races to close SA’s one-million-child gap

South Africa has expanded access to the early childhood development subsidy to over 954,000 children, but Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube stressed that a large access gap for early learning programmes remained. At the 2026 Bana Pele Leadership Summit, leaders emphasised cross-sector collaboration, policy reforms and private investment to achieve universal access to quality early learning by 2030.