Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programs are essential because they boost children’s perceptual,
physical, mental, linguistic, emotional, social and intellectual development. Despite the benefits
of ECCE, such programs are accessed by just a handful of children in the context of Botswana. Hence a
majority of children who are eligible for ECCE programs tend to miss out on the benefits of such programs.
The purpose of this paper is three-fold. First, it provides brief background information about the
development of ECCE in the country. Second, it discusses why and how little attention has been paid to
ECCE in the country. Third, it highlights implications of excluding many children from ECCE. The author
concludes by making several suggestions that could go a long way to ensure that children eligible for
ECCE have access to ECCE programs of good quality.