“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” Nelson Mandela

“If we are to break the cycle of poverty, we need to educate the children of the poor.” President Cyril Ramaphosa, SoNA 2018

Why Education?

  • 78% of Grade 4 learners in South Africa cannot read for meaning in any language (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2016 – South African Children’s Reading Literacy Achievement)
  • South Africa has the lowest reading scores: South African Grade 4 children have scored lowest in the most recent round of the 2016 Progress in International Reading and Literacy Study (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2016 – South African Children’s Reading Literacy Achievement)
  • South Africa gender gap in reading second highest in the world: Girls score much higher than boys in reading across the board. In Grade 4, girls are a full year of learning ahead of boys. This gender gap is the second largest among all 50 countries that participated. (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2016 – South African Children’s Reading Literacy Achievement)
  • Close to half of the (pre-school) children in the lower household income quintiles did not attend any educational centre (General Household Survey data, Early Childhood Development in South Africa, 2016)
  • 83% of 3-5 year-old children in the richest 20% of households attend a group learning programme, while only 58% in the poorest 20% of households are enrolled in a programme. (South African Early Childhood Review 2017)

Structural Determinants

  • South African educational legacy
  • Shortage of and poorly maintained educational facilities
  • Lack of educational resources
  • Scarcity of skilled teachers

Our Work

  • Our ECD operating model entails coordinating operational partnerships with government departments, community-based organisations, and faith-based organisations
  • Psychomotor skills development in early childhood development centres
  • Our goal is to ensure that all children receive access to basic education through reading and numeracy programmes and other educational interventions to ensure a brighter future for our children.
  • Dependant on need, World Vision will provide the resources to improve the school environment, such as providing desks, running water and flushing toilets.
  • Literacy BOOST programme in primary schools
  • Teacher skills development