Literacy in South Africa
South Africa faces a literacy crisis - with our children performing the worst out of 40 other countries in the recent Progress in International Reading Literacy study. The same study found that almost 80% of South African pupils do not develop basic reading skills by the time they reach grade five.
“Currently, an estimated 3 million South African adults are illiterate and another 8 million are functionally illiterate,” says GreaterGood SA’s Managing Director, Carol Tappenden. “Unless we urgently address the lack of literacy skills in our children, these numbers are unlikely to come down.”
Access to reading material in the mother-tongue has been shown to be a major factor in the development of early literacy skills but few South African children are exposed to reading activities with their families and less than half have books in their own homes.
Education experts agree that one of the best ways to boost literacy is to give pre-school children access to story books in their home language. Children that are read to from an early age develop a love of learning which stays with them for life. But there is a severe shortage of South African story books, written in all 11 official languages, and most South African children do not have access to the few books that are available - only 20% of our schools have libraries.
“Donate-a-Book is a wonderful way to pass on your own love of reading to children who don’t have access to the kinds of books that will help them develop and grow into educated adults,” concludes Tappenden.
