The pandemic affected the literacy, says Motshekga

According to the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2021 (PIRLS 2021), 81% of South African Grade 4 pupils still struggle to comprehend what they read at age 10.

The Centre for Evaluation and Assessment (CEA) at UP was appointed by the Department of Basic Education to carry out the study. Minister Angie Motshekga recently received a presentation of its findings. It demonstrates that South Africa ranked lowest out of the 57 countries that took part in PIRLS 2021.

In light of the poor literacy rates, the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, provided reporters with an update on the state of the education sector on Sunday, June 18.

According to Motshekga, the findings proved that the Covid-19 pandemic-related school disruptions caused a decline in reading proficiency across all of the countries.

“The magnitude of the decline relating to the pandemic does not come as a surprise. South Africa was amongst the countries most actively gauging impacts of learning outcomes during the pandemic.

“The results we see in PIRLS are in line with the earlier findings that we picked up as a department as the learning losses that had occurred as a result of the pandemic,” said Motshekga.

Recognizing that learning begins earlier than the foundational phase is crucial, according to Motshekga. In order to make sure children are prepared for school, she said there are things parents, and the department can both do.

“Whilst as a department we play a vital role in supporting early learning skills and teaching children how to read, the entire ecosystem must be involved.

“Schools do play a crucial role in providing reading material especially for families who rely solely on them,” she said.

Motshekga highlighted the significance of each stakeholder—including schools, communities, and other groups—doing their part to ensure that reading proficiency improves. She advised parents to give books to their children as gifts rather than toys and sweets.

The Minister disclosed that pupils who are taught in their mother tongue outperform those who are taught in English in school. She additionally stressed how crucial it is to have access to books written in African languages.

The DA Shadow Minister of Education, Baxolile ‘Bax’ Nodada, said that Motshekga’s statements downplayed the ‘horrifying’ PIRLS results.

“It is distressing that the Minister and her Department fail to realise the travesty of nine and 10-year-olds that cannot understand what the letters on the page and the sounds they make mean. If you do not understand what you are reading, you cannot read.

“The Minister has also consistently failed to address the fact that 56% of grade 6 learners cannot read for meaning at a grade 4 level,” said Nodada.

Nodada continued and said, “It is time the Minister took the education of children seriously, blaming the Covid-pandemic only accounts for a fraction of the problems. Her neglect is robbing them of vital foundational skills crucial for their futures. If Minister Motshekga can’t turn the situation around, she should simply resign.”