By Palesa Ndinisa and Sbongile Sokela
The Topsy Foundation, in partnership with Motheo Training Institute Trust and Sasol, hosted a graduation ceremony on the 27th of June at Boksburg Civic Centre to honour Early Childhood Development (ECD) practitioners who successfully achieved their NQF Level 5 qualification.
Rex Molefe, Founder and Director of Motheo Training Institute Trust, shared the institution’s mission and achievements. “Motheo Training Institute Trust is an accredited, reputable FET college specialising in the training of early childhood development. We are experienced, we have been in operation for many years and we are backed up by a good track record. In other words, this brand, the Motheo Training Institute Trust has over time become the leader in the space of education training development, particularly in the context of ECD.”
He emphasised the broader vision of the institute, which is rooted in social transformation. “Our vision is to unleash the potential of our people, particularly the historically disadvantaged populist, to ensure that we level the playing field so they can respond positively to the economic realities of this country. We are also using ECD as an instrument to fight poverty, unemployment and deepening inequalities in our country.”
The graduation was hailed as a critical step in professionalising the ECD sector. “This graduation is very critical because it is one of the direct interventions and responses to the findings of the reports that revealed that half of the ECD workforce are unqualified and untrained. Seeing graduates obtaining, trying and responding directly to address that, we are addressing issues of supply and demand,” Molefe added.
The qualifications offered by Motheo are fully compliant. “We are operating within the parameters of the law because all the qualifications that we are offering are registered within the National Qualification Framework of the South African Qualification Authority (SAQA) which is the highest regulating body overseeing education training development practices in South Africa. We have seen a track of our graduates articulating into institutions of higher learning, doing diplomas, degrees in education.”
Molefe also reflected on the deeper meaning behind the institute’s name. “The name Motheo means a foundation of a human being, a foundation of a community, a foundation of a society. That resonates with what we are about the development of a society.”
He concluded with hope for the future. “This qualification may accumulate to a possible National Diploma, Bachelor of Education, an Honours degree, Masters degree or a PhD degree in Education. Universities like UNISA offer continuation qualifications in this course.”
The collaboration between Motheo and Topsy has been successful for over a year, with a shared goal of improving the quality of early childhood education. A total of 48 practitioners and graduates were celebrated.
Zinhle Lukhele, Head of Fundraising at Topsy Foundation, explained the impact of the programme. “We realised that a lot of practitioners in the ECD centres that we work with do not have a qualification, therefore they cannot provide quality learning. Through this, they learn how to create classroom lessons, how to play and learn with children to help them develop cognitively and physically. They learn about nutrition for children as well as the development of a child.”
She also stressed the importance of understanding child development. “It is important for the practitioners to know and understand the development process of children.”
Meiki Mashinini, Programme Manager at Topsy, encouraged young people to focus on education. “For learners who are in school, they should focus and study because a lot of things require matric. I’m encouraging that people study hard,”
