By Lufuno Masindi
In a country battling a literacy crisis, Makhanda is witnessing an exceptional spike in literacy rates.
According to the latest citywide Makhanda Reading Comprehension Study by GADRA Education and the Rhodes University Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education, 45% of Grade 4s in our city can read for meaning, more than double the national average of 19.19% found in the Progress in Reading and Literacy Study (PIRLS) in 2021.
GADRA Education primary education programme manager Kelly Long said the February study measured the comprehension skills and reading fluency of 1097 children in all 23 schools in the city, including all 19 public schools, the private schools and two low-fee independent schools.
Fourth-year Rhodes University BEd students administered the tests at the end of February. In 2024, the same study revealed that 37% of local Grade 4s could read for meaning.
Language of learning and teaching
Performance by Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) continues to show marked disparities. Learners taught in English LoLT settings achieved the highest results (68%), while those in Afrikaans (26%) and isiXhosa (25%) lagged.
A focused comparison within quintile 1–4 schools revealed that 51% of learners attending English quintile 1-4 schools were able to read for meaning. In contrast, just 25% of learners attending isiXhosa LoLT schools achieved the benchmark.
Learners in Quintile 5 and Independent schools continue to perform exceptionally well (92%). In comparison, Quintile 1–4 public schools (33%) and low-fee independent schools (48%) showed much lower reading comprehension proficiency, although still much higher than national averages.
Long said the findings underscore the success of targeted literacy interventions and highlight the urgent need for continued support in underperforming schools, particularly those offering isiXhosa as LoLT.
“The study calls for deeper qualitative research, particularly in African-language contexts, to ensure that all learners in Makhanda are equipped with the foundational literacy skills they need to thrive,” Long said.
The reasons for underperformance in isiXhosa are not fully understood, but African languages do not have the same structure as English. The way children are taught to read in African languages might be flawed and inappropriate for the structure of these languages.
“Research suggests that we have been teaching our teachers how to teach children to read in African languages incorrectly, and we are seeing that our children are learning how to read but do not understand anything they are reading,” Long said.
Socio-economic factors, such as poverty and a lack of resources, also substantially affect literacy rates. Learners from poor backgrounds are less likely to receive adequate resources to equip themselves for literacy development. They often have challenges with a shortage of books, especially those that represent the identities of most of the learners. There are insufficient isiXhosa books.
“We need to prioritise the research and change the curriculum for the teaching of African languages. We need to look at it carefully, and we might need to take a careful look at our language and education policy,” she said. Long also said isiXhosa needed to be treated like an academic language to prioritise multilingualism in the classroom.
Partnerships improve reading
However, Long said the outstanding – and improving – results can be accredited to a tight-knit partnership of stakeholders in the city who are determined to solve the literacy crisis.
Twelve years ago, when there was an evident reading crisis among Grade 4 learners in Makhanda, a group of stakeholders came together to form a cooperative umbrella that identified the pressing issues in different schools and crafted several strategic responses.
School-based learner support interventions included maths interventions and an isiXhosa spelling bee for Grade 3 learners that began five to six years ago and made history as the first of its kind in the country. Some programs operated during school hours, and extra-curricular learning happened after school hours.
Other notable programmes are in-service teacher and school leadership support interventions and parental and community support services.
Long said one of the leading factors in the substantial increase in literacy levels is the focus on teaching children how to read for meaning and understanding.
All the second-year Rhodes BEd students work weekly in three schools with groups of four to five Grade 3 learners at a time, focusing on English First Additional Language to help learners’ smooth transition to English when they arrive in Grade 4.
GADRA Education also started the Whistle Stop School nine years ago in collaboration with St Mary’s School and Tantyi Lower Primary. This program gives qualified teachers space in their classrooms to work with learners in small groups on literacy remediation and extension. This pull-out program takes learners in small groups for 45 minutes daily.
Makhanda-based Education NGOs and education institutions have been working tirelessly with various schools in Makhanda to develop a reading culture and literacy development. All fee-exempt schools where English is the Language of Learning and Teaching have received the English Phonics and Graded Reader Programmes developed by the Whistle Stop School.
These schools include George Dickerson, St Mary’s, Good Shepherd, and Ntaba Maria. The three schools that are benefiting from service learning and the First Additional Language English programme are Makana Primary School, Makana Primary School, NV Cewu Primary School and Samuel Ntlebi. Also, the ICDP Trust has worked to ensure that almost every Foundation Phase school in Makhanda has at least one or two classroom libraries.
The role of technology
Long emphasised the significance of using technology to enhance and promote literacy. Classrooms can adopt the AI tutors model that has been implemented in the USA to assist learners in comprehending their school work.
However, she cautions that it should not be a replacement for the human connection between teachers and learners but should be used to equalise access to quality information and resources, especially in areas that lack access to the internet.
“We need universal internet access as our first step, and our second step is not to be scared of technology; it’s not going to take over jobs but make us way more effective,” she said.
[Original] https://grocotts.ru.ac.za/2025/03/28/makhandas-outlier-literacy-rates-rise-again/