Stagnating matric maths pass rate a sobering reality

Nearly nine in 10 of Grade 12 learners who wrote examinations administered by the Independent Examinations Board qualified to study for a university degree

The numbers tell a politically uncomfortable truth. A survey of all Grade 4 children in Makhanda’s no-fee public schools this year found that 51% of isiXhosa learners taught in English can read for meaning.  However, for those taught in isiXhosa — despite it being their mother tongue and despite decades of policy emphasising the value […]

In November 2025, the R50 million Funda Uphumelele National Survey (FUNS) delivered the first comprehensive measurement of early-grade reading in all official languages. The findings confirmed what researchers suspected: only 31% of Grade 1 learners can identify 40 letter-sounds per minute — the minimum threshold for reading readiness. By Grade 3, 15% cannot read a […]

Lack of funds prevent provinces from carrying out their mandate to manage public library services

SA spends just 1.8% of its education budget on ECD: the damage shows

Children growing up in homes with many books receive three years more schooling than children from bookless homes, a study shows

Much attention is paid to the 81% of South Africa’s Grade 4s who cannot read for meaning. Leanne Kelly considers the stories of those from the ‘other 19%

Research shows that classroom libraries increase reading frequency by 70% compared with centralised libraries

Civil society cannot solve the country’s literacy crisis on its own, because the scale is too vast and the resources required too substantial

Since 2020, the Eastern Cape Department of Education has retained about R5 billion from the budgets of its poorest schools, ostensibly for “centralised procurement”. Some of that money could have funded proven teacher support, classroom libraries, and access to abundant free digital resources – multiple times over. Rod Amner and Laney van Wyk report

Several key buildings, including the main administrative and student affairs offices on the Alice Campus, were petrol-bombed, leaving the institution reeling.

The initiative is supported by the department of higher education and training, underscoring the government’s commitment to digital transformation in education, alongside a network of implementation partners