DA MP Baxolile Nodada told basic education minister Angie Motshekga and officials from her department that “wholly blaming” the pandemic for the dismal outcomes of an international assessment on reading was “meek and disappointing”.
He was referring to the recent results of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Pirls) that revealed South African grade 4 pupils were placed last out of 57 countries.
A total of 12,426 grade 4s who were assessed in reading achieved an average score of 288, well below the international low benchmark of 400 and the international average of 500.
At least eight out of 10 grade 4 pupils did not reach the low benchmark of 400 points, implying they could not read for meaning.
Egypt and Jordan, the only two other African countries that participated in the 2021 Pirls, achieved average scores of 378 and 381 respectively, while the top-performing countries were Singapore, Hong Kong and Russia.
Department officials made a presentation to parliament on the Pirls’ results on Tuesday.
Nodada said the department should be taking “some form of accountability for these outcomes”, adding: “Schools were closed for too long and we lost a full-blown year, particularly in rural schools, because someone in the department decided we are going to close schools six months longer than what we were advised to do.
“The performance of our children at that particular level is poor, and we must be able to accept that, internalise it and take responsibility for it.”
We go in there to benchmark ourselves against the best systems in the world. We are not there to run a race.
— Angie Motshekga
Nodada asked whether the department had an “actual national reading plan that is finalised with specifics of what need to be achieved”.
Responding to Nodada, Motshekga said that if the 2021 Pirls results had not reflected a decline “informed by Covid” she would not have agreed with the results.
She said part of Pirls was listening with understanding and reading with understanding.
“These things you say, we are running away in taking accountability ... That’s what matters most, what parents do, what schools do, what teachers do and what children do themselves in terms of being motivated.”
She said while teachers can do much to motivate children, “kids belong to families, and it’s a joint responsibility”.
“That it takes a village to raise a child is fully demonstrated in these results.”
In her opening remarks earlier, Motshekga said the country “doesn’t go into these studies to compete against Russia, Canada or Finland”.
“We go in there to benchmark ourselves against the best systems in the world. We are not there to run a race.
“There are few countries from the south which bother to go into the tests because it is complex and difficult.
“Education is a societal issue, not a departmental issue. So what is it that we are supposed to do as a society to get out of the quagmire we find ourselves in?”
Another DA MP, Marina van Zyl, said she was taken aback by Motshekga’s opening statements that they were not competing with other countries.
“Whether we are first or last, only two out of 10 grade 4 children can read for meaning at age 10. What steps is the department taking to improve the reading abilities of children who are struggling to read for meaning?”
EFF MP Ngwanamakwetle Mashabela said the problem of pupils who struggle to read for meaning “is largely concentrated in township and rural schools”.
She asked whether the department had assessed the difference in resources given to areas doing well and those that are not.
“Could the problem be addressed by investing more resources into schools?”
She said teachers in township schools were complaining about the huge number of pupils “making it practically impossible for educators to pay attention to each individual learner”.
Another EFF MP, Shirley Mokgotho, asked about the measures that the department had introduced since 2020 “to speed up the reading with understanding ability” of pupils across the different languages.
“Has the department effectively inculcated reading among parents for them to encourage learners to read with understanding when they are at home?”
ANC MP Ronald Moroatshehla said Gauteng and Western Cape were the best-performing provinces and questioned why Limpopo and North West had performed poorly.
The department’s director for national assessment, Mark Chetty, said they were finalising a revised national reading strategy which will include the rollout of an early grade reading programme.
He said this will start with improving school readiness through better early childhood development provision.
“The primary focus is home language literacy with added support for English as a first additional language.”
The department indicated it needed to support better instructional practice in reading by teachers.
“We must expand the repertoire of instructional methods, especially hard-to-teach methods like group guided reading, by providing LTSM [learner teacher support material], support for lesson planning and high dosage professional support.”
It also acknowledged that large classes in grades 1 to 3 be eliminated and that the filling of vacant teaching posts in these grades be prioritised.
According to the Pirls’ results, Afrikaans was the best performing language after pupils achieved a score of 387, while Setswana achieved 211, the lowest score among all official languages.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.