Make sure every child is ready to read and do maths by the time they go to school.

Despite significant investment in education, we know that South Africa is falling behind in critical indicators relating to reading and numeracy. Eight out of 10 Grade 4 learners cannot read for meaning in any language, and only 37% of learners in Grade 5 had acquired the basic subject knowledge and skills in maths for their grade. All of this directly impacts the trajectories of young children and their ability to contribute towards building our society and economy. The compound impact of this includes poor educational outcomes over the long term and real reductions in GD p outputs. Investing in reading and numeracy is an opportunity to transform the lives of a generation of children. We know that early learning deficits erode the benefits of formal education and that shifting these trends requires investments in early learning interventions that focus on proficiency in reading, writing and counting. Alongside this work we need to invest in a national campaign to ignite a love for reading in children, one that supports cognitive development (increased vocabulary, curiosity and communication) as well as socioemotional development – such as family cohesion, self-esteem and confidence – which in turn positively impacts reading levels, school performance and improves life chances.

DGMT has invested in the Nal’ibali national reading campaign since 2011, in the belief that the development of a national reading culture requires sustained effort over many years. Between 2011 and 2016, there was an improvement in Grade 4 reading literacy scores, as measured by the international p rogress in Reading Literacy Survey ( p IRLS). 20 Unfortunately, based on the evidence emerging from foundation-phase surveys, the social and educational disruptions caused by Covid-19 possibly mean that these gains have been reversed. All the more reason to sustain and intensify our efforts.

five-year aim:

› Reach 40% of South Africa’s children directly through a national reading campaign.