What is the literacy gap in South Africa?

Eight out of 10 South African school children struggle to read by the age of ten, an international study has found. South Africa ranked last out of 57 countries assessed in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, which tested the reading ability of 400,000 students globally in 2021.

What is the literacy level in South Africa?

Between 2010-2021, the literacy rate was highest in the year 2015 and lowest in the year 2017. The literacy rate reached 95.33% in 2021. Between 2010 to 2021, the literacy rate of South Africa decreased by 3.3%. The percentage of the population in each age group who is literate serves as a measure of literacy.

What is the inequality in education in South Africa?

In 2020 Amnesty International published its report, South Africa – Broken and unequal education perpetuating poverty and inequality, and noted that “the South African education system, characterised by crumbling infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms and relatively poor educational outcomes, is perpetuating inequality ...

How many children in South Africa can't read?

An international literacy study has confirmed that 81% of South Africa's grade 4 children could not read for meaning in any language in 2021, almost exactly the same proportion as in 2011.

Why does South Africa have a high literacy rate?

The literacy rate of South Africa is higher than that of West Africa because of lifestyle, political conditions, and economical factors.

Discussing South Africa's literacy rate

Why is illiteracy a problem in South Africa?

Shortcomings in the formal education sys- tem, poverty and lack of Government commitment are some of the main causes of this problem in South Africa, which calls for a comprehensive approach such as the intro- duction of a primary school support programme to help remedy the situation.

Why do we struggle with poor literacy in South Africa?

The majority of African language speaking children in South Africa learn in their home language for the first three years and then switch to learning in English in Grade 4. Children have hardly had the opportunity to establish literacy skills in their home language when they are forced to learn in and through English.

Which country has lowest literacy rate?

Does South Africa have the highest literacy rate?

The average rate on the continent stood at roughly 67 percent. Moreover, Southern Africa had the highest literacy levels among African regions.

What are the problems with education in South Africa?

When analysing the school system in South Africa it became clear that the education system was flawed, with poorly performing teachers, poor work ethics, lack of community and parental support, poor control by education authorities, poor support for teachers and very low levels of accountability.

Why is education so low in South Africa?

South Africa's education system leaves many children behind due to crumbling infrastructure, teacher shortages and a lack of educational progress. Only 20% of public schools are properly functional, with an enormous gap between the results they achieve and the outcomes of the other 80% of public schools.

Why most South Africans still live under filthy conditions?

Answer: Answer - Apartheid's legacy. There are multiple reasons why many South Africans still live in impoverished and unsanitary conditions, but one of the primary reasons is the legacy of apartheid, which enforced racial segregation and created stark inequalities in access to resources, services, and opportunities.

What is the education trend in South Africa?

In 2020, the gross tertiary education enrollment ratio was more than 24 percent. Generation X individuals holding a higher education certificate in South Africa made up 16.4 percent in 2018. Additionally, there are more international students studying in South Africa than South African students studying abroad.

Which African country has highest literacy rate?

Africa's Highest Literacy Rates 1. Seychelles (95.9%) 2. Equatorial Guinea (95.2%) 3.

How is the education system in South Africa?

The Basic Education System consists of Primary and Secondary schools. The Primary Schools run from Grade 1 to Grade 7, and Secondary Schools or High Schools run from Grade 8 to Grade 12. Once the Secondary schooling is over, students can attend the Higher Education and Training, or Tertiary Education.

What is the poverty rate in South Africa?

MEDIAN INCOME

Approximately 55.5 percent (30.3 million people) of the population is living in poverty at the national upper poverty line (~ZAR 992) while a total of 13.8 million people (25 percent) are experiencing food poverty.

Where does South Africa rank in education in the world?

According to the OECD, South Africa's education system ranks 75^th out of 76 mainly rich countries. 27% of students who have attended school for 6 years cannot read.

Does Africa have a high or low literacy rate?

Sub-Saharan Africa Literacy Facts:

More than 1 in 3 adults cannot read. 182 million adults are unable to read and write. 48 million youth (ages 15-24) are illiterate. 22% of primary aged children are not in school.

Which African country has a literacy rate that is less than 30%?

In Burkina Faso, Niger and South Sudan – the African countries at the bottom of the rank – literacy rates are still below 30%.

What country has 100% literacy?

Literacy Rates by Country

There are nine countries in the world that have a 100% literacy rate: Andorra, Finland, Greenland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and North Korea.

What is the literacy rate in Switzerland?

Literacy of population

According to our estimates 7,579,267 persons or 99% of adult population (aged 15 years and above) in Switzerland are able to read and write. Accordingly about 76,558 adults are illiterate. Literacy rate for adult male population is 99% (3,692,720 persons). 37,300 are illiterate.

Why is education difficult to access in South Africa?

At the forefront of this poor access to higher education – and subsequently, the much-needed skills to power the SA economy – are the closely related problems of inadequate infrastructure (and tutors) and the inability of many prospective students to pay the necessary fees.

Why do we have rich and poor in South Africa?

South Africa is the most economically unequal country in the world, according to the World Bank. The difference between wealthy and poor in South Africa has been increasing steadily since the end of apartheid in 1994, and this inequality is closely linked to racial divisions in society.

Why do so many South African children not read as a leisure activity?

Part of South Africa's reading catastrophe is cultural. Most parents don't read to their children many because they themselves are not literate and because there are very few cheap children's books in African languages (and it must be remembered that English is a minority home language in South Africa).