We found out this week that 81% of South African grade 4 pupils could not read for meaning in any language, the highest percentage of all 57 participating countries and regions in the study. We also experienced the largest decline in test scores between 2016 and 2021. To put this in perspective, of the 1.1-million children in grade 4, about 900,000 can’t read. To call these findings anything other than devastating would be a euphemism and an injustice.
BOOKS ARE STILL VITAL FOR LITERACY AND LEARNING
March 7, 2024
While the improved 2023 matric pass rate is cause for celebration, consider the almost 500 000 children who started grade one in the same year but dropped out of school along
NEW SCHOOL CERTIFICATE FOR SOUTH AFRICA LAUNCHING NEXT YEAR
March 7, 2024
South Africa is on the verge of introducing a nationwide implementation of a novel school certification, the General Education Certificate (GEC), targeted at grade 9 students. Angie Motshekga, the Minister
SOUTH AFRICA’S READING CRISIS: 5 STEPS TO ADDRESS CHILDREN’S LITERACY STRUGGLES
March 7, 2024
Kunyashe, a first-grade student residing in Cape Town, South Africa, is deeply dedicated to her studies. Despite the challenging living conditions in a cramped one-room shack, barely larger than a
