Between The Lines Series
latest news & developments
Mother-tongue education is failing
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…
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…
How funding apartheid fails young library users
Lack of funds prevent provinces from carrying out their mandate to manage public library services