Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education at Cape Peninsula University of Technology

Programme overview

A diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education is to prepare teachers who can work with young children from birth to four from the perspective of being a thinking teacher within a pedagogy that is participatory and transformative. Early childhood education should not be offered in schools and therefore, teachers must be prepared to teach through a pedagogy that is play-based and participatory. The early childhood education space is a democratic space in which future teachers should be able to work in co-constructive ways both with children, their parents, caregivers, and communities. Offering type listed: MOWBRAY - PART-TIME.

Faculty: Faculty of Education | Department: Foundation Phase Studies | Study mode: part-time | Location: Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

What you will study

Subjects listed on the programme page include Academic Literacy 1; Comm for Multi-cultur Env (eng, Afr, Xhosa); Creativity in the Early Years 1; Early Communication, Language & Literacy 1; Education Studies 1; Health, Safety & Nutrition in the Early Years.

Career pathways

Upon completion of the Early Childhood Education and Care (Level 6) learners may be eligible to apply for the Bachelor of Education (ECE).

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Admission to the Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education is subject to the General Rules of CPUT as well as faculty-specific requirements. The following admission requirements apply: The minimum entry requirement is National Senior Certificate (NSC) or Senior Certificate (SC) or a National Senior Certificate for Adults (NASCA) or a Level 4 National Certificate (Vocational) (NC(V)) with a diploma entry endorsement or equivalent. A Level 4 or 5 Occupational Certificate in ECD can also be presented for consideration for admission and a Level 5 certificate or diploma can be presented for consideration for admission and assessment pertaining to advanced credit standing. In exceptional cases, where prospective student do not meet the minimum admission requirements, they may apply for assessment of prior learning to be granted access to the qualification. Refer to 2.5 for details on the intuitional policy requirements and procedures related to Recognition of Prior Learning Students’ language and computer proficiency will be tested before entry to the qualification; however, additional support will be provided to improve this proficiency during the period of study.

Tuition is charged per module, so the total depends on the modules you register for each year. Current fees are listed in the official fee schedule.

Applications for the 2027 intake open on Monday, 11 May 2026. Diploma applications close on 30 September 2026 for South African citizens and 31 August 2026 for non-South African citizens (31 July 2026 for Emergency Medical Care and Somatology; 31 August 2026 for Grade R and Early Childhood Care and Education).

The application fee is R110 (non-refundable); the late application fee is R160. A deposit of R1,750 is payable on acceptance and a registration fee of R785 applies.

Apply through the official page: https://www.cput.ac.za/study-at-cput/undergraduate/apply

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