Programme Director, Esteemed Dignitaries, Members of the Media, Ladies and Gentlemen
Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed guests gathered here in Pretoria and joining us online, I warmly welcome this critical seminar focused on understanding reading literacy trends.
It is truly an honour and privilege to address you all today.
Today, we are privileged to acquire vital information on how learners comprehend texts and apply essential comprehension skills across various reading materials.
The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) will present key findings highlighting achievement data and Grades 4 and 6 trends.
These findings will be complemented by initial insights on reading literacy from the Early Learning National Assessment (ELNA) in Grade 1 and our national Systemic Evaluation study in Grade 3.
These distinct yet complementary assessment programmes provide us with a comprehensive overview and purposeful measure of reading literacy outcomes.
Enhancing learners' ability to read for meaning is a top priority for this administration, aligned with the presidential mandate and the 2030 sustainable development goals, as it forms a crucial cornerstone of the government's educational mandate.
We carry the mandate of providing quality education to all learners in the country, starting from early childhood development up to secondary education.
Our primary objective is to ensure that every learner has access to high- standard education that caters to their needs, regardless of their socio- economic background.
We remain steadfast in fulfilling this critical mandate, ensuring that all learners in South Africa have access to quality education that equips them for success in their personal and professional lives.
In light of this context, we have received the PIRLS 2021 results, and our initial observations indicate a significant disappointment within the sector.
The results indicate a disappointingly low performance, contrasting with our previous participation in other international assessments like TIMSS and SEACMEQ, which showed that we were "system on the rise" before the impact of COVID-19.
We must acknowledge that things were not always better in the past.
Over the decades, we have made considerable strides in expanding access to schooling, including early childhood development (ECD) and Grade R.
Additionally, primary and secondary school completion rates have steadily increased, allowing us to address the educational injustices stemming from our apartheid history.
However, as we entered the early 2000s and nearly all 7- to 15-year- old children were enrolled, we became acutely aware that the quality of learning and teaching remained alarmingly low and unequal.
Our participation in the first PIRLS assessment in 2006 revealed a particular challenge: a significant number of children were reaching Grade 5 without acquiring adequate reading comprehension skills.
This issue was further confirmed by other international studies on learner achievement, such as TIMSS and SACMEQ, which shed light on the disconcertingly low and unequal learning outcomes within our education system.
Between 2009 and 2012, various reforms were implemented to address the challenges in South Africa's education system, and these efforts have yielded positive results.
The DBE Workbook Programme has revolutionised the availability of educational materials in South African classrooms.
At the same time, introducing the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) has brought much-needed clarity and received widespread acceptance across the sector.
Additionally, the implementation of Annual National Assessments from 2011 to 2014 has emphasised the importance of learning outcomes in primary schools and strengthened accountability.
The ongoing expansion of the Grade R programme has significantly increased educational participation among 5- and 6-year-olds over the past two decades.
Experts recognise that these reforms have contributed to South Africa's improved performance in international assessments such as PIRLS, TIMSS, and SACMEQ.
It should be noted that South Africa is only one of three African countries participating in PIRLS, alongside Morocco and Egypt.
PIRLS represents the first international large-scale assessment to report results after successfully collecting data during the COVID-19 pandemic, assessing 400,000 students across 57 countries.
As a developing country, South Africa participates in PIRLS and TIMSS with an understanding that these tests establish a global standard for reading comprehension.
We must not be discouraged but rather have confidence in our efforts to surpass current limitations and raise the skills of African children, despite the challenges posed by limited resources.
Although our performance remains low, South Africa has shown remarkable improvements in TIMSS, PIRLS, and SACMEQ compared to other countries worldwide.
Improvements in primary and early secondary school grades positively affect matriculation results, with more candidates successfully completing Grade 12, passing the National Senior Certificate, and achieving bachelor's passes annually.
A comprehensive education spanning 12 years fosters resilience, and evidence from our Systemic Evaluation study indicates incremental improvements in learner performance from the foundation phase (Grade 3) to the senior phase (Grade 9).
Furthermore, evidence from the National Senior Certificate demonstrates that over 80% of learners successfully pass Grade 12.
However, we must focus more on the early years of schooling to address the building of adequate reading comprehension skills.
Our education system is fragile in this regard, as learners have not yet benefitted from many years of schooling, and this fragility has been exacerbated by the global interruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Response to the Covid-19 pandemic
The response of South Africa's education system to the COVID-19 pandemic was complex and challenging.
Even before the pandemic, the education system faced significant historical challenges such as poverty, inequality, and inadequate infrastructure.
The pandemic further amplified these difficulties, resulting in significant disruptions to education and prolonged school closures.
To mitigate the spread of the virus, the South African government implemented extended school closures, leading to considerable disruptions in education and a loss of learning opportunities, particularly in the foundation phase.
To address the challenges of school closures, the government introduced remote learning programmes, including online classes, educational television broadcasts, and printed materials.
However, these programmes faced significant hurdles due to limited access to technology and internet connectivity in various parts of the country.
Despite opposition from various quarters, we made the bold decision to reopen schools, which posed a massive logistical challenge.
Overcoming concerns from parents and teachers was understandably difficult.
Schools were reopened through a phased-in approach, prioritising higher grades, especially those preparing for matric exams, to ensure a fair chance for success.
Even when all grades returned to school, most institutions implemented rotational timetabling to comply with social distancing regulations.
We firmly believe these drastic measures were necessary to balance life-saving efforts with education preservation.
However, due to the unprecedented disruptions caused by the pandemic, as much as 60% of teaching time was lost in certain grades in 2020, and up to 50% was lost in 2021.
These extended periods of lost instructional time are particularly critical for children in the early grades and those attending preschool, as they coincide with a crucial stage of their developmental journey.
It is important to note that the timing of the PIRLS assessment in late 2021, after almost two years of disruption and before the return to regular school schedules, presented a significant challenge.
It occurred before the implementation of comprehensive learning recovery plans.
While it is true that South Africa had challenges in reading performance even before the pandemic, the decline in our PIRLS results can largely be attributed to the disruptions caused by COVID-19.
This disappointing outcome does not reflect a deterioration in the overall functioning of our basic education system but rather the unprecedented and catastrophic impact of the pandemic on the education of an entire generation of children.
The World Bank has argued that a profound pre-COVID learning crisis already existed, with learning poverty estimated at 57% in low- and middle-income countries in 2019.
Post-COVID, this figure surged to as high as 70% in low- and middle- income countries and even higher at 86% for Sub-Saharan Africa.
Consequently, it is unsurprising that many countries have experienced a decline in scores in international benchmark assessments like PIRLS.
The DBE intervention programme
While previous PIRLS studies highlighted our reading challenges, we lacked concrete evidence regarding the most effective interventions.
However, we have gained valuable insights through rigorous evaluations conducted across various provinces.
In 2019, based on the department's Early Grade Reading Study findings, the President announced the rollout of a support package for teachers, including increased reading materials in African languages and more targeted forms of teacher professional development.
Subsequently, in the same year, we developed an Integrated Sector Reading Plan after extensive consultations with provinces, teacher unions, and other stakeholders.
This plan aimed to guide provinces in implementing their own reading programmes and covered ten comprehensive areas of work.
These included system capacity strengthening, teacher professional support, learning materials, cross-curricular reading, partnerships, parental involvement, advocacy, and monitoring and evaluation.
Unfortunately, the implementation of these plans was significantly impacted by the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nonetheless, some progress was made. Through initiatives like the Early Grade Reading Programme and the Primary School Reading Improvement Programme (PSRIP), we expanded the reach of the practical support package.
We provided additional reading materials and teacher training to more schools.
Between 2017 and 2023, the PSRIP benefited over 1200 subject advisors, more than 40,000 teachers, and over 5000 schools.
As part of the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative, more than 16,000 Reading Champions were appointed to support school reading practices.
Additionally, a course offered through the University of Johannesburg equipped subject advisors and reading specialists with the skills to provide coaching on reading instruction in African languages to teachers.
However, despite these efforts, the substantial loss of teaching time has undeniably had a significant impact.
With the pandemic behind us, we must urgently refine and implement a comprehensive, coordinated strategy to address the reading challenge.
The importance of reading
It is crucial to remind all officials and the nation at large of the importance of reading.
We must all prioritise and devote adequate attention to enhancing learners' reading ability for meaning.
Reading for meaning, or reading comprehension, is the skill of understanding and interpreting the written text.
It plays a fundamental role in academic and personal success, with research highlighting the particular importance of developing strong reading comprehension skills by age 10 for the following reasons:
Academic Success: Reading comprehension is a vital component across various academic subjects, such as science, social studies, and literature.
Lifelong Learning: Reading for meaning is crucial for academic success and continuous learning throughout life.
Individuals with solid reading comprehension skills can better acquire new knowledge and stay informed about the world.
Career Opportunities: Many professions require strong reading comprehension skills, including medicine, law, and business.
Children are better prepared for future career prospects by developing these skills early on.
Critical Thinking: Reading for meaning promotes vital thinking abilities.
Children reading must interpret texts, make connections, analyse information, and draw conclusions.
These skills are essential for problem-solving and decision-making in all aspects of life.
In summary, reading for meaning is a vital skill that should be nurtured early.
By age 10, children should be able to comprehend various types of texts, both fiction and non-fiction, while utilising critical thinking skills to interpret the information presented.
Today's seminar will delve deeper into the intricacies of reading and equip teachers with appropriate strategies to effectively teach reading for meaning.
Complexity of reading
Reading is a complex process that requires the development of decoding skills, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension, as well as the utilisation of learning strategies to derive meaning from text.
However, in many South African primary schools, reading instruction often focuses solely on oral performance, neglecting reading comprehension and making sense of written words.
This approach hinders learners' ability to answer passages in assessments like PIRLS.
While pronunciation, accuracy, and fluency are important, they hold no value without comprehension.
Recognising the global emphasis on reading comprehension, we participate in PIRLS and collaborate with organised labour to develop a national Systemic Evaluation programme.
PIRLS assesses reading comprehension and monitors literacy trends.
Unfortunately, the test results reveal disappointingly low scores in reading literacy.
To address this, teachers should assess oral reading performance and evaluate written comprehension and understanding of passages.
We must move beyond memorising sounds and decoding words.
The seminar will present our ELNA results, indicating positive outcomes in emerging literacy, but we need to extend this success to reading comprehension.
These challenges suggest that the issue lies in how reading is taught in most South African schools.
Learners are taught to read aloud and pronounce correctly but are not adequately prepared to understand and derive meaning from written words.
Additionally, we should focus on cultivating the joy of discovery and meaning-making from school reading.
Acquiring strong reading skills in multilingual contexts is complex, influenced by factors such as exposure to multiple languages, limited resources in African languages, teacher training, the school environment, and the home environment.
However, with the proper support and resources, children can develop strong reading skills in multiple languages.
Following this seminar, we will revise our national plan to improve reading for meaning in African home languages and promote reading literacy in the emergent and early grade phases (ECD and Foundation Phase).
In conclusion, improving reading scores in South Africa requires a multifaceted approach that addresses the challenges within our education system.
We encourage the researchers to provide specific recommendations during their presentations, which can be incorporated into the reviewed plan and strategy.
The revised national reading plan
Significant work remains, and we are finalising a revised National Reading Plan to address the gaps in our approach.
This plan will ensure the provision of a minimum Learning and Teaching Support Material (LTSM) package specifically designed to support reading.
The materials will be culturally and age-appropriate, including resources like alphabet friezes, posters, flashcards, big books, and, most importantly, decodable graded reading books developed in various African languages to facilitate children's reading acquisition.
The plan will expand the implementation of more direct and targeted teacher training and support, emphasising the effective use of the provided materials.
The primary focus will be on Home Language Literacy, as children need to learn to read in a language they understand.
However, the plan will also support English as a First Additional Language to prepare learners for the challenging transition to English as the Language of Learning and Teaching, which typically occurs in Grade 4.
A key aspect of the new plan will be to enhance school readiness by improving the quality of Early Childhood Development (ECD) provision now that ECD has transitioned to the Department of Basic Education.
The plan will leverage partnerships and advocacy initiatives to ensure a coordinated effort towards improving reading.
It will also introduce closer monitoring and evaluation of provincial reading support implementation to track the achievement of improved reading outcomes.
Furthermore, we will not wait for the next five-year PIRLS cycle to gauge our progress.
Instead, we will monitor literacy and comprehension through the Systemic Evaluation at the Grade 3 level.
We will also measure progress in foundational reading skills, such as letter recognition and reading fluency, which must be acquired in Grades 1-3 to ensure meaningful reading by Grade 4.
This approach builds on the department's recent development of reading benchmarks in each African language.
Additionally, we will continue to track early learning outcomes and school readiness through the Early Learning National Assessment (ELNA) and Thrive by Five surveys.
Programme Director, there is a saying that "Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or self- confidence."
South Africa's participation in the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS 2021) in Grades 4 and 6 provides valuable insights into our reading literacy landscape.
To complement these global study results, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has conducted the 2022 Systemic Evaluation (SE) and the Early Learning National Assessment (ELNA) study.
These findings will be presented alongside PIRLS results to comprehensively analyse reading literacy in our country.
Today, participants will receive an initial national highlights report on PIRLS 2021, with a more comprehensive report in the coming weeks.
The PIRLS 2021 results will be presented by the University of Pretoria's Centre for Evaluation and Assessment (CEA) research team.
International and national assessment experts will also contribute their insights on the implications of these results and strategies for improving reading literacy.
Furthermore, the seminar will outline plans for secondary reports on reading literacy and capacity-building initiatives to empower officials and teachers in interpreting and utilising large-scale assessment data for enhancing reading levels in the classroom.
As we delve into the PIRLS achievement scores, which have historically been low, we must approach this challenge with renewed energy and determination.
This seminar aims to critically examine reading literacy performance, deconstruct its components, and construct a national plan that incorporates key elements to address this issue.
Considerable work has already commenced in this regard, and the Director-General and his team will provide further details during their summation of the seminar.
Thank you for your attention, and I eagerly anticipate engaging in the seminar's discussions and deliberations.
