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Experts call for urgent reform to tackle the literacy crisis in SA
The Mercury
|September 09, 2025
AS INTERNATIONAL Literacy Day was marked yesterday, South Africa's education system is once again facing scrutiny as alarming statistics reveal a deepening literacy crisis among young learners.
With Literacy Month now under way, experts and advocates are calling attention to the urgent need for reform in the teaching of reading, particularly in multilingual contexts.
Recent research highlights a systemic disconnect within South Africa's Early Childhood Development (ECD) framework. While 91% of parents use their home language to communicate with their children, a staggering two-thirds of ECD centres adopt English as the medium of instruction.
This disparity clearly hampers the development of foundational reading skills and contributes to cognitive confusion among young learners.
In the latest Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, South Africa was ranked last out of 57 countries, generating grave concerns not just for educators but for society as a whole.
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