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The Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- The Herald
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
The Herald
4 days ago
- General
- The Herald
Swamped teachers ‘expected to perform miracles'
Njobe said the school's request was simple, no luxuries, but essentials — classrooms, teachers and security. The principal said the school struggled to get parents to assist their children with homework and assignments. 'A lot of parents are working on the farms, picking oranges. 'Most of these companies have a no-work-no-pay policy so parents miss out on a lot because they can't afford not to get paid. 'Parents leave early in the morning and come back after dark. There's no time to look at their children's work. 'We have challenges even when we've written letters to parents asking for meetings — they don't show up.' Njobe said Bongolethu's biggest problem was the lack of classrooms because even if the department employed more teachers, there would be no space for them to teach. 'We've written letters asking for bungalows or containers. We would take that while they source funding to build proper classrooms. 'We also want a library. There's no library at the school and no proper resources for the children. 'The department tries in its allocation of books but it's not enough.' Just a few metres up the road, Glentana Junior Primary principal Tembela Vumazonke echoed Njobe's cries for help. Vumazonke and her grade 3 English subject head, Lillian Dyonase, said reading levels at the school were dangerously low, with grade 3 pupils grappling with words they should have mastered in grade 1. 'Our children don't know phonics. We create posters, we try everything, but some children just can't comprehend what's in front of them,' Vumazonke said. Dyonase said the teachers tried to support pupils individually, but the sheer number of struggling youngsters made it impossible to keep up with the curriculum. 'We're grade 3 teachers, but you find the words we're teaching the pupils, the words they're struggling with, are grade 1 or grade 2 words. 'I have a problem with children who don't know how to read entire sentences. 'I even have to break down words and, [in] that time, we've got five sentences to go through and yet that's how I'm teaching each class. 'There's a disconnect somewhere between child, educator and parent. The biggest problem we've got with languages is isiXhosa, which is a home language [subject]. 'Even though the children speak the language, they can't read, write or comprehend,' Dyonase said. Vumazonke said some parents had dropped out of school themselves, making it difficult for them to help their children with their homework. Bongolethu and Glentana are also situated near taverns — a major headache for both schools. Njobe said children as young as those in grade 4 consumed alcohol. Dyonase said the proximity of the taverns was a big problem. 'There's a lot of drinking that goes on in Kirkwood. ' We also deal a lot with children who have learning disabilities and as educators we see this, but we're not medical professionals and can't give a diagnosis. 'We refer them to a departmental official who conducts such assessments, but the problem is there's only one official for the entire district which creates a backlog.' Eastern Cape education department spokesperson Vuyiseka Mboxela said the department was currently building 34 schools in the province, and while Glentana was not part of the figure, the department was obligated to address the challenges at the school. 'Increase of numbers in classes are a decision of the school because it's them that administer intake at the school.' Mboxela said building new schools in communities depended on the determination of profiles conducted by the department. The provincial government had budgeted R1.9bn for school infrastructure in the current financial year. The number of schools in the province have been reduced from 5,285 to 4,976. On the proximity of taverns close to schools, Mboxela said the liquor board had extended the radius of taverns to be 500m from schools. 'Previously, this was 100m,' she said. 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
