Caught in trap called poverty

Every child should be able to read fluently in their mother tongue by the age of 10.

This was recommended by a study released by Unicef South Africa in Johannesburg yesterday.

The report, which focuses on poverty and social exclusion among children in South Africa, states that a poor-quality education contributes to the country's uncomfortable levels of poverty.

Children from poor socioeconomic backgrounds were found to have a 17% chance of reaching matric by the time they are 19 or 20 - compared with 88% for those from more privileged households.

Commissioner Lindiwe Mokate said the report stemmed from discussions held between the SA Human Rights Commission and Unicef following the government's release of the National Development Plan: Vision for 2030.

"This calls on our government and all of us to redouble our efforts and to start building our future on our children and we dare not fail on this beckoning challenge.

"If we look at the reality, children who start school now will be starting work in 2030," said Mokate.

The report gave special attention to key areas, which could benefit from intervention to help children escape inherited poverty.

Though there was a decrease of more than 10% in the rate of poverty for children between 2008 and 2012 (from more than 62% to 51%), 40% remained "chronically poor".

Only 26.5% of children were in "non-poor" households in this period. This was determined using a R575 per capita monthly household income as a poverty line.

Child support grants were found to have helped reduce child hunger, despite its high levels.

Data from the general household surveys showed that more than 10% of children either always, often or sometimes go hungry at bedtime.

Greater attention to accountability within government institutions was recommended to enable social delivery.

The commission has handed the report and its recommendations to the Office of the Presidency.