SA’s education system remains in crisis, with alarming gaps in literacy and mathematics skills among both pupils and educators alike, according to the latest report published by the 2030 Reading Panel.
Consistent with the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Pirls) and last year’s SA systemic evaluation (SACE) report, 80% of grade 3 pupils in SA still cannot read for meaning in any language. Also, by grade 6, nearly 70% of the pupils fail to develop grade-level reading skills in their language of learning and teaching, the report states.
Notably, pupils who speak English and Afrikaans far outpace those who speak African languages, underscoring the deep socioeconomic and linguistic inequalities that have plagued the education system for years.
Even more concerning is the sharp drop in maths proficiency among grade 6 teachers. The proportion of teachers with only basic maths knowledge increased from 1.4% in 2013 to 7.3% in 2021.
According to the fourth edition of the 2030 Reading Panel released in Johannesburg yesterday, only 32% of teachers currently demonstrate high levels of mathematics proficiency, a dramatic decline from 98% just a few years ago. This decline in teacher competency does not bode well for efforts to improve maths outcomes in the country.
Experts attribute the decline to systemic factors such as a lack of specialised training for maths teachers, inadequate professional development opportunities, and overcrowded classrooms that make it difficult for teachers to give pupils individual attention.
Many teachers simply do not have the necessary skills to meet the demands of the curriculum, and without proper support, the situation continues to worsen.
Budget cuts and unfunded mandates continued to pressure provinces, it says. Teacher wages were consuming a larger share of the overall education budget, leaving less room for other critical expenditures.
The report, however, noted a marked improvement in teacher reading competencies. According to the latest data, 94% of grade 6 teachers are now classified as “critical readers”, a sharp jump from just 64% in previous years. Even though, experts have warned that these gains have yet to be reflected in the learning outcomes of younger students.
This improvement is significant, especially in Mpumalanga, where 100% of grade 6 teachers meet the highest reading proficiency levels. In contrast, KwaZulu-Natal lags behind, with only 74% of teachers achieving these skills.
Provinces such as the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State, and Gauteng were taking initiative by implementing their own reading assessments to complement national and international evaluations. These assessments aim to measure pupil outcomes more effectively and allocate resources accordingly.
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The department of basic education has made notable shifts, including a revised national reading strategy and plans to update the national catalogue with essential classroom materials.
This is according to Naledi Mbude-Mehana, deputy director-general in the national department of basic education.
She admitted that the department has been slow in intensifying efforts to improve foundation phase but had now come to the party.
She said the department planned to extend the use of mother tongue-based bilingual education to grade 6 from 2025, the report said.
This is in line with the findings that highlighted the importance of home language proficiency in grade 3 as a predictor of repetition rates in grade 4.
The department was also in conversation with the department of higher education and training (DHET) to ensure alignment between basic education objectives and teachers produced by universities. “We have to ensure that teachers coming into the system were fit for purpose, and trained to teach African languages as well,” she said.
We have to ensure that teachers coming into the system were fit for purpose, and trained to teach African languages as well
— Naledi Mbude-Mehana
“There are young teachers in the system who’ve never had isiZulu as a language in the schooling of teaching. It is not just learners who need to be capacitated. Everyone must be capacitated,” she said.
The Reading Panel, the annual panel of SA leaders in the education sector, aims to address the critical question of "What needs to change to ensure all children can read by 2030"?
The panel is convened by former deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
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