Drive at schools to boost reading

NINE primary schools in Port Elizabeth have received literacy and numeracy support materials to assist teachers in grades 1 to 3 with the implementation of the Foundations for Learning campaign

The schools are part of a pilot project managed by the General Motors South Africa Foundation in partnership with the department's district office, designed to improve education service delivery to schools.

A multi-disciplinary team will address the specific needs of the pilot schools. Based on the outcome of a school evaluation process, the team will interact with schools on a daily basis and one of their key focus areas will be the foundation phase, with special emphasis on the improvement of literacy and numeracy.

The project's co-ordinator, Andre Forbes, said studies had shown that South African children in primary school were not performing at required levels in literacy and numeracy and lagged behind international standards.

He said the alarming downward trend in reading and numeracy levels indicated an urgent need for a radical change in the way schools were supported.

"The GMSA Foundation acknowledges that the ability to read is central to all learning and places great emphasis on the early acquisition of reading literacy," he said.

"GMSA Foundation is confident that this resource material, coupled with the continued support of the circuit team, will result in a provincially and nationally replicable model to improve education outcomes in SA schools."

He said the high quality resources provided to these schools would demonstrate the effect that access to textbooks had on reading.