The Department of Education may have conceded that poorly resourced schools could be one of the factors behind the latest alarming literacy assessment of South African pupils, but it also placed blame on the lack of a culture for reading in households and other societal issues.
The department had to present a comprehensive briefing to the portfolio committee on basic education, on the recently released Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) for 2021.
Committee chairperson Bongiwe Mbinqo-Gigaba said that after noting media reports on the outcome of the study, it had requested a detailed briefing from the DBE on its implications.
The PIRLS 2021 study revealed very low performance levels for learners’ ability to read for meaning as they turn 10 years old.
The study found that an alarming 81% of Grade 4 pupils assessed in the international study could not read for meaning. This represented a 3% decline in literacy rates since the previous assessment conducted in 2016.
Mbinqo-Gigaba said the committee was concerned about the results, but took note of the societal issues that impacted on South Africa’s results, including the days of learning lost during Covid-19.
She said the committee was aware that the PIRLS assessments were done in English and some learners did not have English as a language of learning in the developmental phase.
“We took to heart some of the suggestions and strategies mentioned, like placing more emphasis on access to books and reading corners in classrooms, thereby inculcating a love for reading and being able to read with meaning and understanding,” she said.
The committee heard that the department uses three national assessments to generate data: early and emergent literacy skills (Elna), foundational reading comprehension (systemic evaluation) and international reading comprehension benchmarks.
The department told the committee that the results of the Elna and systematic evaluation assessments were better than the international reading comprehension assessment results.
It said some of the challenges with reading for comprehension were the lack of a culture of reading in many households, poorly resourced schools and a lack of emphasis on reading during the early childhood development phase.
The department said it would study the results in order to improve in those areas.
Education