On Tuesday, the results of the 2021 Progress in International Reading and Literacy (PIRLS) were released, and South Africa’s results in the survey raised alarm bells. The Zero Dropout Campaign states that accelerated learning programmes (ALPs) are desperately needed to reverse learning losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The PIRLS survey tests the basic comprehension skills of 320 South African Grade 4 learners across 320 different schools. Pupils are given a 400-word text to read and are then required to answer a number of questions relating to the text.
PIRLS is the first literacy study that has been conducted since the pandemic and demonstrated that 81% of Grade 4 learners cannot read for meaning in any language. This is a 3% increase since 2016.
The international average for this test is 500 points, but South Africa scored a shocking 288 points.
Our Grade 6 learners were also tested and received a much higher score of 384 points.
21 of the 32 participating countries also reported a decrease in scores, attributing this to learning losses as a result of the pandemic. While the pandemic has played a significant role in the decline of results, South Africa had a problem prior to the pandemic.
Accelerated Learning Programmes (ALPs)
Zero Dropout Programme Director, Merle Mansfield, states that this decline in results is worrying and requires urgent intervention.
In a post-pandemic learning environment, ALPs are critical and should be prioritised as learners who have fallen behind academically and repeated years are at much greater risk of not returning to school, which in turn places their prospects of securing a qualification and employment opportunities in future at serious risk.
In order to reverse learning losses as a result of school closures and rotational timetables, the Zero Dropout Programme has been advocating for APLs. Mansfield states that it is alarming that no interventions have been implemented to remediate learners since the pandemic.
The only province making efforts to get resolve learning losses is the Western Cape, where the #BackOnTrack programme has recently been introduced.
Learner comprehension is one of the main factors that contribute to learners failing and having to repeat a grade or even multiple grades. Learners who are falling behind their peers are also more likely to drop out.
Learning losses are the greatest in the foundational phases, where pupils are learning to grasp important skills that serve as the basis for later learning. When these concepts, like reading and writing, are not harnessed in early childhood, it is almost impossible for the child to fully catch up.
The Zero Dropout Programme has found that teaching a child in their home language allows them to gain foundational literacy skills that they can later apply when learning English and other languages. More needs to be done to make it possible for learners to be taught in their home languages, as it is an essential component for learners’ engagement, development and subsequent assessment.
