Only E7 million has been allocated for Grade 0 while 344 public primary schools that are ready to offer the class have no teachers to teach, Chief Inspector for Early Childhood Care, Development and Education (ECCDE) Mxolisi Maphosa has revealed.
Maphosa was presenting the Thematic Review on ECCDE -Grade 0 during the Eswatini Education Joint Sector Review / Indaba 2026 held at Sibane Sami Hotel.
According to Maphosa, the country has 603 public primary schools. Out of these, only 76 schools, representing 12.6 per cent, are currently implementing Grade 0 with government-employed teachers.
He said a further 344 schools, representing 57 per cent of all public primary schools, have met the basic readiness requirements for Grade 0 but cannot operate because they have no teachers.
“Readiness outpaces delivery. 344 schools have classrooms, curriculum and materials, but no teachers,” Maphosa said.
He explained that these 344 schools already have Grade 0 classrooms that were built, the Grade 0 national curriculum, and teaching and learning materials supplied, but no class is running because there is no government-employed Grade 0 teacher posted.
He said these schools represent public investment that is not yet reaching children. “Children in those 344 communities miss structured early learning before Grade 1. Teacher deployment is the single step that turns readiness into service,” Maphosa said.
He said if teachers were provided, up to 344 more schools could immediately start offering Grade 0, but deployment must be verified against learner demand, expected enrolment, child-friendly WASH, accessibility and safety, classroom condition and support from the head teacher.
E7 million is 0.1 per cent of education budget
Maphosa said the domestic allocation for ECCDE/Grade 0 stands at E7 million, which is about 0.1 per cent of the Ministry of Education and Training budget.
He said this means less than one Lilangeni in every thousand Emalangeni spent on education goes to the foundation of the system. “E7 million cannot carry expansion,” Maphosa said.
He said actual ECCDE recurrent spending has been small and volatile over the past three financial years. Government spent E5.8 million in 2022/23, which dropped to E4 million in 2023/24 and further declined to E2.8 million in 2024/25.“Spending has been small and volatile but expansion needs a predictable, protected budget line,” he said.
Maphosa said this volatility makes it impossible to plan teacher recruitment, training and materials supply. He said predictable financing must cover teacher recruitment and remuneration, continuous professional development, teaching and learning materials, child-friendly infrastructure and WASH, and quality assurance and monitoring.
He called on the Joint Sector Review to review the adequacy of the E7 million allocation and to agree on a costed, multi-year financing plan for Grade 0. He said without a protected budget line, Grade 0 will continue to rely on ad hoc allocations that cannot sustain expansion.
“Every classroom, curriculum guide and box of materials already in schools should translate into a child learning. Today, in 344 schools, that link is missing,” Maphosa said.
