As International Literacy Day was marked on September 8, South Africa’s education system is once again facing scrutiny as alarming statistics reveal a deepening literacy crisis among young learners.
With Literacy Month now under way, experts and advocates are calling attention to the urgent need for reform in the teaching of reading, particularly in multilingual contexts.
Recent research highlights a systemic disconnect within South Africa's Early Childhood Development (ECD) framework. While 91% of parents use their home language to communicate with their children, a staggering two-thirds of ECD centres adopt English as the medium of instruction.
This disparity clearly hampers the development of foundational reading skills and contributes to cognitive confusion among young learners. In the latest Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, South Africa was ranked last out of 57 countries, generating grave concerns not just for educators but for society as a whole.
The figures reveal that approximately 65% of households with children under the age of 10 do not own a single children's book, raising critical alarms about literacy resources available to the most vulnerable sections of the population.
During a literacy webinar hosted by Sesame Workshop South Africa in June, experts convened to dissect the roots of this crisis, easily identifiable within a system that does not align with the linguistic realities of most South African children.
Dr Naledi Mbude-Mehana from the Department of Basic Education emphasised, “Our education system was designed around English and Afrikaans. But the majority of children speak African languages. Despite this, we continue to apply reading methods never meant for isiXhosa, isiZulu or Sesotho, and outcomes suffer.”
In an effort to combat this issue, it is revealed that the Department of Basic Education has developed a new mother tongue-based bilingual literacy strategy. This initiative aims to support children in learning their home language while gradually introducing English, a shift that acknowledges the need for cultural and linguistic relevance in education.
Amidst these structural challenges, community-driven initiatives are emerging as beacons of hope. Projects like “Run Home to Read”, led by Project Literacy, are training unemployed youth to become “reading champions”.
These champions visit homes, read with children, and provide carers with much-needed home language materials. “We’re creating little pockets of change, one home, one child, one book at a time,” shared CEO Lungile Moleko.
Encouragingly, the sentiment echoed by Sesame Workshop South Africa aligns with this grassroots effort. As Dr Onyinye Nwaneri, managing director, noted, “Children sing along in their home language, see characters who look like them, and build language skills through play.”
It is explained that this approach reinforces the importance of nurturing a love of reading through familiarity and enjoyment. However, as speakers at the webinar reminded the audience, the literacy challenge cannot be addressed in isolation; it requires collaborative and concerted efforts across the entire education ecosystem.
“Fixing literacy isn’t just the government’s job,” Nwaneri said. “It takes everyone. And it starts by making reading easy, joyful, and relevant, beginning with stories in children’s own languages.”
Lauren Bradfield from Book Village also shared her thoughts: “Reading for pleasure remains the strongest predictor of success. Without books, time, language support, and adults who model a love of reading, children are left behind before they even begin.”
Saturday Star