SHAMBA Trust has commissioned the Eswatini Economic Policy Analysis and Research Centre (ESEPARC) to conduct a Survey on Early Childhood Care and Education in Eswatini.

During the signing of a contract for the study between the two institutions on Friday (February 01), ESEPARC Executive Director Dr Thula Sizwe Dlamini said the Centre is excited to be given the opportunity to conduct the study. He noted that the study would not only benefit SHAMBA Trust but the entire Eswatini community.

“We are excited by this opportunity because it will affirm to other development agencies in Eswatini that there is value in this kind of research,” remarked Dr Dlamini.

SHAMBA Trust Project Manager Kathy Wells said they are also excited to be working with ESEPARC on the project. She stated that they are very keen on the results of the study. She assured the Centre of SHAMBA’s commitment to seeing the provision of early childhood care and education (ECCE) in Eswatini succeed and expressed excitement that the Ministry of Education and Training has also been brought on board for the study.

The survey is expected to provide insights on early childhood care and education (ECCE) in Eswatini and baseline information on the status quo of ECCE provision in the country. Through the ECCE Survey, ESEPARC will provide comprehensive policy and programme analysis, and engage the different ECCE actors and policy makers to draw up recommendations for interventions that will feed into SHAMBA’s activities and national education policy and programming.

The objectives of the survey are to assess the progress that has been made since 2008 in access to ECCE centres providing pre-primary education, and to assess the gap between current provision, access, and the international and national targets of full access to quality ECCE, especially by the most vulnerable children