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