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The Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- The Herald
Improving ECD must be a national priority
Sesame Workshop managing director Dr Onyinye Nwaneri said ECD was often mistakenly seen as a social welfare issue rather than a catalyst for long-term growth. 'It's an understandable, but flawed perception that underestimates the profound economic benefits that investment in ECD can bring,' she said. SA faces a major access gap — more than a million children aged three to five are not enrolled in early learning programmes. Citing global research, Nwaneri said that for every rand spent on ECD, returns of up to 13% could be expected. 'These returns come from improved educational performance, increased employment opportunities, higher lifetime earnings and reduced social costs,' she said. Despite these benefits, SA allocates just 0.5% of its total government expenditure to early learning. 'This level of funding remains untenably low, and this will continue to limit the potential economic and social benefits that could be realised through more significant investment into the lives and development of SA's young children,' Nwaneri said. She noted that targeted ECD investment could generate 670,000 new jobs and empower women, who make up 95% of the ECD workforce. 'Studies suggest that each new ECD position enables six to 10 other women to pursue employment because they have reliable childcare,' she said. University of Johannesburg education expert Mary Metcalfe reinforced the urgency of the situation, highlighting the long-term consequences of poor foundational literacy. 'Children who cannot read for meaning by grade 4 fall further and further behind as the curriculum depends on the independent reading of text across all subjects,' she said, referencing the department of basic education's 2022 Systemic Evaluation, which found that only 20% of grade 3 pupils could read at the required level. Metcalfe said inequality in early reading success mirrored systemic inequalities: overcrowded classrooms, a lack of reading materials and under-resourced teachers. 'While the department of basic education aims for a limit of 45 learners in a class, in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape, more than 20% of grade 3 teachers reported having classes larger than 70. 'Only 46% of grade 3 children had language textbooks. Reading is not just about education; it's about justice and opportunity,' Metcalfe said. She called for targeted funding, better teacher support and widespread access to books in home languages as non-negotiable priorities. 'Investment in improving literacy in the foundation years must be a national priority. 'This must go beyond broad declarations of intent and be visible in evidence-based planning aligned to realistic assessments of resource needs,' she said. Both Nwaneri and Metcalfe argued that improving ECD and foundational literacy must be a national priority backed by strategic investment and public-private collaboration. 'This is not just the right thing to do socially, it's the smartest economic choice SA can make,' Nwaneri 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
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
Mail & Guardian
4 days ago
- General
- Mail & Guardian
Calls grow to address marginalisation of boys in education system
With youth month around the corner, education support networks have raised the alarm on the persistent underperformance and marginalisation of boys in the education system. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G) With youth month around the corner, education support networks have raised the alarm on the persistent underperformance and marginalisation of boys in the education system. 'Girls are now outperforming boys in National Senior Certificate results and bachelor's degree graduations, which is a positive achievement, but why are boys not matching up to that percentage?' asked former Gauteng education minister, Mary Metcalfe. Malose Langa, the author of Becoming Men, said: 'Boys are underperforming and there is no light shed on this issue — we need an equal society in the workplace and out in the community.' Recent Moreover, the 2023 National Senior Certificate results indicate that although boys and girls had similar pass rates (82.92% and 82.88% respectively), boys are more prone to dropping out before completing grade 12. Kathryn Kure of Data Myna, an analytics platform, describes the issue as 'complex', emphasising that boys are particularly at risk of falling behind during their early schooling years. 'Gendered norms play a significant role. Boys are often expected to be dominant, self-reliant and emotionless. These expectations clash with the demands of modern learning environments,' she said. A report by the Zero-Dropout Campaign highlights that boys are dropping out of school at higher rates than girls, largely because of entrenched gender norms and social expectations. The report, titled, The research suggests that from an early age, boys are socialised into rigid and often violent forms of masculinity, making them more susceptible to bullying and less likely to feel a sense of belonging at school. According to the report, this emotional detachment contributes to a gradual withdrawal from learning. 'Dropout comes at the end of a long process of disengagement in which learners are pushed or pulled away from school because of factors at home, at school and in their communities,' said the campaign's communications director, Colin Wardle. 'When educators, school leaders and decision-makers are aware of the factors driving disengagement and drop-out, they will be in a better position to implement drop-out prevention strategies.' The study also links dropout to socio-economic pressures, particularly for boys in single-parent households who may be expected to take on provider roles. Other contributing factors include gang involvement, substance abuse and experiences of corporal punishment, all of which compound the problems boys face in staying in school. 'Boys can become easily pressured into harmful acts which will jeopardise their future all because they did not have school-based initiatives that encouraged boys to express emotions and challenge harmful gender norms,' said Langa. During the department of basic education's commemoration of International Day of the Boy Child, TT Mbha, the founder of the men's wellness network Amatyma Brotherhood Circle, emphasised the need for community-based support networks to address the feeling of isolation among boys. 'Young boys often do not have strong father figures in their lives, and that is where community members should step in and guide them to make good choices to raise confident and capable young men,' Mbha said. A According to the report, in 2022, the out-of-school rate for South African children and adolescents of primary and secondary school age was 10.54% for boys, compared to 8.17% for girls. In response to these issues, the department of basic education said it has committed to improving foundational learning for all children. 'Through our global efforts to uplift women, and the girl child in particular, there is the unintended consequence of leaving the boy child behind in our classrooms and our communities,' said Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube during the commemoration of International Day of the Boy Child. 'Boys are either disengaging in schools or they are repeating grades. This has a societal impact, and we need to make sure that we are supporting boys and giving them space to be vulnerable to become positive male models, and to grow up to be responsible men, citizens and leaders, not engaging in violence.' The department said it has launched initiatives which include the implementation of programmes aimed at enhancing reading, writing, and maths skills among primary pupils. These efforts are part of a broader strategy to ensure that no child is left behind in the pursuit of quality education. But advocacy groups such as Equal Education argue that more comprehensive measures are necessary. 'We need to establish the importance of addressing systemic issues such as unequal resource allocation and the need for inclusive policies that cater to the diverse needs of all learners,' said Equal Education's Noncedo Madubedube.
