Let’s talk about Early Childhood Care and Education in Eswatini

A conversation needs to be had about access to good early childhood care and education (ECCE) in Eswatini. The education system is struggling to produce a relevant labour force that can be productive in the current and future industries. All discussions point to the need to fix the education problem at the grassroots level, which is, as early as preschool. Many people are increasingly realising that trying to solve skills development challenges such as entrepreneurship and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) later on in a pupil’s journey within education usually at high school and tertiary levels of education is not likely to yield any transformational results. The foundation at preschool level sets the tone for success later in education career pathways and so the country needs to ensure that ECCE improvement is a critical part of human capital/skills development investments prioritised for economic growth.