As the world celebrates World Book Day, serious concerns have been raised over the alarming shortage of books at Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centres across South Africa — a gap activists warn could have lasting effects on the foundational learning of young children.
Findings from the most recent ECD Census reveal that a staggering 61% of centres have fewer than 10 books for children, and only 56% offer age-appropriate reading materials. Experts say this shortfall could hinder the development of vital literacy skills in a child's most formative years.
In response to this growing concern, the Santa Shoebox Project, a non-profit organisation known for its community outreach work, has launched an initiative aimed at tackling the crisis. The organisation has committed to printing and distributing 70,000 children's books to under-resourced ECD centres nationwide.
“We’re facing a literacy crisis,” said Deb Zelezniak, spokesperson for the Santa Shoebox Project. “With 42,500 registered ECDs and roughly 40 children per centre, we’re looking at hundreds of thousands of children without adequate access to books during the most critical years of their development.”
Literacy advocates are urging greater investment and public-private collaboration to improve access to reading material in early education settings — a necessary step, they say, toward building a literate and capable future generation.