Improving literacy key to breaking cycle of poverty

A report by the 2030 Reading Panel, chaired by former deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, has laid bare the devastating state of literacy in SA. A staggering 80% of grade 3 pupils cannot read for meaning in any language.

In the foundational phase of education, when children should be learning the basics of reading and comprehension, SA is failing most of its young learners.

At schools like Bongolethu and Glentana Junior Primary, in Nqweba (formerly Kirkwood) the situation is dire.

The shortage of classrooms and qualified teachers is so acute that principals have begged for container classrooms just to reduce overcrowding.

Teachers manage classes of up to 70 children, making one-on-one instruction impossible.

With no libraries, limited books, and little to no security, these schools are trying to operate under conditions that make meaningful learning nearly impossible.

The collapse of foundational literacy is a social emergency.

Illiteracy affects a child’s ability to succeed across all subjects and it affects their ability to participate in society, find employment, and break the cycle of poverty.

As noted by education expert Mary Metcalfe, children who cannot read by grade 4 fall further behind each year as the curriculum becomes increasingly reliant on reading skills.

Without urgent intervention, these children are being set up for systemic exclusion.

The 2024 Reading Panel report makes it clear that SA is producing only half the number of foundation-phase teachers it needs.

Early learning programmes reach too few children, with more than a million aged 3 to 5 still not enrolled.

And the country spends a mere 0.5% of its budget on ECD, which is far below what is needed to build a literate future.

We know what is possible when effort is put into grassroots literacy, as evidenced at schools like Astra Primary.

The Gqeberha school launched a literacy initiative centre in 2019 that has reshaped classroom culture and sparked a love of reading.

The results are tangible and it has started a movement of sorts that is spreading throughout the community, though space is limited.

Over three weeks, The Herald, Daily Dispatch and Sowetan take a deep dive into the state of reading in SA, sharing lessons that would, we hope, spark necessary action and change to improve literacy levels.

Our “Turning the Page” project was made possible by the Henry Nxumalo Foundation.

The Herald

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