When art imitates life — lessons from Yizo Yizo for South Africa’s literacy crisis
Mantwa is in Grade 11. Despite her age and the fact that she is one year away from finishing school, Mantwa struggles to read which makes learning, understanding and memorising other concepts all the more difficult. If you’re shocked that Mantwa is nearing the end of her school career yet unable to read with comprehension, […]
What can be done to improve reading for meaning in our schools?
The recently released Progress in International Reading and Literacy Study (PIRLS) conducted in 2021, reveals that eight out of 10 Grade 4 pupils in South Africa cannot read for meaning. Not only that, but SA ranked at the bottom of all countries surveyed. DG Murray Trust Innovation Director Kentse Radebe spoke to Radio 702’s John […]
Eight in 10 South African children struggle to read by age of 10.
The recently released Progress in International Reading and Literacy Study (PIRLS) conducted in 2021, reveals that eight out of 10 Grade 4 pupils in South Africa cannot read for meaning. Not only that, but SA ranked at the bottom of all countries surveyed. DG Murray Trust Innovation Director Kentse Radebe spoke to Cape Talk’s Sara-Jayne […]
2021 PIRLS Results – Can South Africa’s children read well?
The results of the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) were released on 16 May 2023. The disappointing results show that 81% of South Africa’s Grade 4 learners struggle to read for meaning. This is 3 percentage points higher than the results from 2016. South Africa is ranked last out of 57 countries. […]
Learning Brief: Proactive Interventions to Build Stronger Learning Foundations
One of South Africa’s biggest developmental challenges is the large proportion of children who cannot read for meaning in early grades. Reading with comprehension is a fundamental skill upon which others are built. Children who do not have strong learning foundations are not equipped to read for meaning and, without adequate support, they struggle to […]
Creating jobs and improving education at the same time
There’s a wonderful book by Dr Seuss that all parents should read to their children. It’s called Oh, the Places you’ll Go, written for young people as they set off on life’s exciting journey towards success (“98 and ¾ per cent guaranteed”!). But it’s not all breathlessly gung-ho. The book acknowledges that there are amazing […]
Hands-on Learning Issue 13
“We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom” reads a quote by E.O. Wilson, who wrote the book, ‘Consilience: The unity of knowledge’. Through the newly revived and rebranded edition of our Hands-on Learning publication, we hope to play a helpful role in synthesising information from innovators and implementers in civil society, supporting them […]
The power of engaging around stories: Evidence from the Biblionef and Western Cape Education Department Book Project
South Africa’s foundation phase reading is in crisis. As evidenced by studies such as the 2016 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), 78% of Grade 4 students cannot read for meaning in any language. Several South African NGOs are trying to address this fracture in our education system. In 2016, book donation organisation Biblionef […]
A snapshot of our reading culture in South Africa – time to spread the love
“It’s been more than 25 years since I met Mr Dube, my English language teacher, and I still remember him vividly. For his second lesson, Mr Dube distributed newspapers to every student and instructed us to read them. After fifteen minutes he requested all those who had come across new words to write them on the […]
A million happy faces: Nal’ibali talks about the success of World Read Aloud Day 2018
We were so excited by the fact that Nal’ibali mobilised South Africans to read to 1 294 345 children on World Read Aloud Day this year, that we asked them to tell us how they did it: You have seen an 80% increase in the number of children who were read to on World Read […]
