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“Whether parents like reading or not, they need to be an example to their children”
18 May 2023
The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) revealed its findings for 2021, with South Africa ranking as one of the lowest in terms of results and trailing well behind the global average.
“Not to mention that over four million learners had actually been impacted and currently there is no coherent plan to accelerate learning and address the backlogs experienced by covid generation or provide quality education to all learners. The minister of basic education, Angie Motshekga, went on to list the myriad of interventions aimed at improving reading in South Africa, including the devised national reading plan. However, this is just a long list of items that have led to uncoordinated and ad hoc responses from the provinces,” says the Commissioner of the South African Human Rights Commission, Andre Gaum who went on to say that if any plan was to succeed, it must be clear on the minimum inputs such as teacher training, learning and teacher support material.
The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) revealed its findings for 2021, with South Africa ranking as one of the lowest in terms of results and trailing well behind the global average.
“Not to mention that over four million learners had actually been impacted and currently there is no coherent plan to accelerate learning and address the backlogs experienced by covid generation or provide quality education to all learners. The minister of basic education, Angie Motshekga, went on to list the myriad of interventions aimed at improving reading in South Africa, including the devised national reading plan. However, this is just a long list of items that have led to uncoordinated and ad hoc responses from the provinces,” says the Commissioner of the South African Human Rights Commission, Andre Gaum who went on to say that if any plan was to succeed, it must be clear on the minimum inputs such as teacher training, learning and teacher support material.
“Also, implementation on timelines and a specifically allocated budget is important. There should be single-mindedness across all learning programs and among all stakeholders and role players in the education field. So, the commission has called Minister Motshekga, to feed the PIRLS’s findings with the appropriate urgency and develop a coherent time-bound national response to the reading crisis – because it is a crisis,” he added.
And while there are numerous contributing factors and reasons behind the reading crisis such as poor socio-economic backgrounds, poverty, inequality, and a lack of infrastructure, Gaum further elaborated on the importance of parents playing an integral role in the process.
“The study has shown that parental involvement is minimal, and whether parents like reading or not, they need to be an example to their children and therefore parental involvement is critical,” added Gaum.
Source: The Voice of the Cape
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