Reading study ‘a wake-up call’ for govt – Amnesty International
Amnesty International SA says the time has come for the Department of Basic Education to institute drastic measures to improve pupils’ reading skills.
It was reacting to the results of a study on the quality of Grade 4’s reading skills.
The department released the latest findings of the International Reading Literacy Study this week.
More than 12 000 Grade 4 pupils were assessed, and it was found that over 80% of them cannot read for meaning.
"This was a problem before the pandemic and it's just been exacerbated by the pandemic,” says the lobby group's Mienke Steytler.
She says it's a troubling report, and the stats are an indictment on our education system.
She says the department needs to make sure that every child is given quality basic education irrespective of their background.
"We acknowledge that the consequences of Covid-19 are deep but this does not excuse the Department of Basic Education from tackling the issue head-on by putting human rights at the heart of its policies, plans and responses and by making progress reports publicly available."
She says the DBE must develop a time-bound measurable and transparent plan to respond to this crisis.
