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Learners seen in class.
The Basic Education Department has conceded that it has seen a regression in learners’ comprehension skills in the past four years.
This follows its confirmation that it will not make coding and robotics compulsory subjects in schools, citing systemic challenges.
The department says a decrease in the number of learners who cannot read for meaning is one of the primary issues.
Basic Education Ministry spokesperson Lukhanyo Vangqa says research has also indicated a decrease in learners performing well in mathematics and science.
“When the minister came into the department, she received the results from the trends in mathematics and science studies, which is called TEMS. It’s an international benchmarking test that benchmarks our learners against their international counterparts, and we’ve done very poorly in that. And she was then informed by our systematic evaluation. The South African systematic evaluation, which showed and revealed that 8 out of 10 learners in grade 4 cannot read for meaning in any language. That means we don’t have the foundations for literacy in this country now.”
