Reading Champions shine a little light in tough Nelson Mandela Bay neighbourhood

The Herald

17-06-2025

At Dietrich Primary School in Schauderville, where cultures and languages from across Africa converge, teachers aren't just fighting to teach, they are fighting to be heard.
Overcrowded classrooms, outdated resources and a curriculum bloated with administrative demands are pushing educators to the brink.
Despite their dedication and creative efforts, teachers at the school in Nelson Mandela Bay's northern areas say they are stretched too thin and that their hands are tied by systemic neglect.
Dietrich Primary's principal, Chantel Milborrow said she believed the curriculum for children and teachers was overloaded.
'It is filled with a lot of administration work, which prevents teachers from doing what they are supposed to do to the best of their abilities, or the way they would like to do.'
A report by the 2030 Reading Panel, chaired by former deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, found that about 80% of SA's grade 3 pupils are unable to read for meaning in any language.
Just 20% of grade 3 pupils are performing at grade level or above for reading in their home language.
This is something teachers at Dietrich Primary have experienced first-hand.
Grade 6 teacher Shanice Simons said the basic education department's annual teaching plan made no provision for pupils who were struggling.
'It doesn't make provision for the child that cannot but only focuses on the child that can do everything.
'The child who does read with comprehension, who can answer specific types of questions, different levels of understanding can be accommodated, but the ones who cannot are not accommodated for.'
'While some the level of reading of some learners might sound as if they are really good, they are not able to answer those questions related to what they've just read.
' That then spills over into the assessments. Our assessments are not differentiated as yet.
' That then spills over into our pass rate b ecause then we are classified as underperforming, and it is basically because our learners cannot read with comprehension, and it is also not their first language.'
Ethnicities and cultures from all over Africa collide in Schauderville, which borders the Korsten trading hub, and Dietrich Primary's pupil population includes black and coloured South Africans, Zimbabweans, Somalis and Ethiopians.
This has contributed to some of the language challenges at the school.
Grade 4 teacher Wonique Gamieldien said the community in which the school was located contributed to the generally low reading level of its pupils.
' Another influence is the location because there's a lot of gangsterism in the area and children are misbehaving and talk to us with a lack of respect.
'I think we spend about 30 minutes each lesson disciplining children and it takes away from the teaching time.' she said.
Gamieldien said lack of parental supervision posed another challenge.
'If we send children with homework, it doesn't get done because there's no supervision at home at all.
'So, our hands are tied because we have overcrowded classrooms, so we can't assist everyone individually like we would like to.
'I think that's also stressful for us because we really want to help these children, but we can't because there's so many of them.'
Milborrow said in the face of these challenges, the school launched a project, Reading Champions, to encourage a love of books among its pupils.
'Teachers identify the strongest readers in the classroom through spelling tests, to see how good they spell and also if they're able to comprehend what they're reading.
'We call them Reading Champions.
'They're given a badge, and their role is to assist the ones that are struggling to read, assist those who are not confident when it comes to reading and also those who are a little bit shy.
'We find that is a very effective way to encourage reading.
'In the foundation phase, learners are given high-frequency words, spelling tests once a week and parents are sent the words learners are preparing for.
'We need a lot of more parental involvement, but we found Reading Champions is a nice way to encourage learners to read because everyone wants a badge,' Milborrow said.
Eastern Cape education spokesperson Vuyiseka Mboxela said the department did not believe the curriculum was overloaded 'because kids have an unmatched opportunity when they are still young'.
This special report into the state of literacy, a collaborative effort by The Herald, Sowetan and Daily Dispatch, was made possible by the Henry Nxumalo Foundation
The Herald