"The quality of a child's earliest environment and the availability of appropriate experiences at the right stages of development are crucial determinants of the way each child's brain architecture develops," said Richard Taggart, head of academics at the opening of an early childhood development (ECD) centre at Ridgeway College on Saturday.
The new block can accommodate 100 children, twice the capacity of the old block.
Hundreds of parents, as well as officials from the Department of Education and the Makhado mayor's office, attended the opening ceremony.
During his address to the parents, Taggart outlined the importance of an ECD. He said that children were taught discipline and responsibility and could receive instruction and interpret requests more easily. Another advantage of such a centre is that children are exposed to their peers and they learn how to interact with other children. They also learn how to deal with conflicts that may arise.
Taggart assured parents that if teachers and parents did things right in the early years, then they should expect to see children thrive throughout school and their adult lives.
During the opening ceremony, parents were entertained by children reading poems as well as performing dance items. The ECD was officially opened by the Department of Education's Soutpansberg East circuit manager, Mr Falaza Baloyi. Parents and learners then had the opportunity to inspect the new ECD block. Some ECD learners rushed to play games, using some apparatus in the new classrooms, while others enjoyed themselves on the new playground next to the new block.