Funda Wande

From commitment to coherence: Reflections on the Western Cape’s reading and literacy strategy

At the launch of the Reading and Literacy Strategy 2026–30, reading was framed as fundamental to the entire schooling experience. The notion that reading is the air that we…

Simthembile Sibhayi

5 min read

Success story: Children in Sobral participate in reading time. Sobral has undergone a transformation from one of the poorest places in Northeast
Brazil to a municipality that regularly hosts visits to schools regarded as among the best in Brazil. Photo: Centre for Reinventing Public Education

BETWEEN THE LINES SERIES

23 DEC 2025

The politics of literacy

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…

Rod Amner
Lucas Nowick

8 min read

The annual competition gives learners an opportunity to work with the Constitution and questions of equality, freedom and dignity (John McCann/M&G)

DEPARTMENT OF BASIC EDUCATION S ACTION PLAN TO 2024

3 OCT 2021

The true state of South Africa’s schools

South Africa has one of the most unequal school systems in the world. The gap in test scores between the top 20% and the rest is wider than in almost every other country

Matthew Sterne

7 min read