Cape Town - The South African basic literacy crisis has seen a further blow due to Covid-19, with the number of Grade 4 pupils who are not able to read in any language increasing to 82%.
This is compared to the 78% that was estimated by the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Pirls) index.
This means it will take the country about 86 years, until 2108, to reach 95% of children who can read for meaning.
This is according to research contained in the 2030 Reading Panel report.
The research used learner losses in the Western Cape to predict the national average of 82%.
The assessment tested all Grade 3 and Grade 6 children in the province in both language and mathematics.
“If the learning losses seen in the Western Cape are experienced by South Africa as a whole (a conservative assumption) then the percentage of Grade 4 children that cannot read for meaning will increase from 78% pre-pandemic to an estimated 82%,” the research read.
It was further found that about 50% of children in no-fee schools did not learn the letters of the alphabet by the end of Grade 1.
The report was discussed in a conference, which was chaired by deputy president and former executive director of UN Women, Dr Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka on Tuesday.
The panel comprised 18 eminent South Africans including Sahrc Commissioner André Gaum, Education professor Nic Spaull, Professor Vuyokazi Nomlomo, and Archbishop Thabo Makgoba.
The Western Cape and Gauteng were both spending more than R100-million over three years to improve reading. These are the only provinces to do so, the panellists noted.
The Western Cape was investing R111 million in a Reading for Meaning programme for Grades 1 and 3 for 2023 to 2025, and Gauteng R 107 million in their Grade R Program for 2022 to 2024.
Mlambo Ngcuka said when it came to reading, there was a massive need for investment.
“This is so we can break the back of the problem we have today.
“We need to invest for the long term and not take short term measures.”
Education activist, Noncedo Madubedube said: “There is no line item in the budget that talks about reading specifically.
“Given the crisis, a general budget for education is not enough.”
We need a plan and budget that can effectively deal with the crisis in the immediate.”
Prof Nic Spaull said: “It is clear that we have made no progress on improving reading outcomes since the devastation of the pandemic. Yet despite this generational catastrophe there has been no real plan to catch up learning losses. There is no plan. There is no budget. There is no urgency. Where is the courage and leadership needed to tackle this issue?”
Education MEC, David Maynier said the Western Cape data for the report came from the provincial education department.
“It is not new data. The Western Cape is the only province to undertake systemic testing,” he said.
Cape Times