Dr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has convened the 2030 Reading Panel to ensure that by 2030 every 10 year old can read for meaning.
Cape Town, South Africa
Joined December 2021
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81% of children cannot read for meaning by age 10.
But this crisis is solvable & provinces are already showing what works.
That’s why former Deputy President Dr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka convened the #2030ReadingPanel to track progress & accountability.
readingpanel.co.za/
SA knows more than ever about the scale & nature of the early-grade reading crisis. Can we turn that knowledge into action at scale? India is an example of how to organise an education system around one goal: achieve universal literacy by gr3. mg.co.za/thought-leader/2026…
"Reading is a human development foundational learning issue — it requires the nation to be behind it." Hulisani Ravele on why mother-tongue reading matters. Only 30% of SA learners in Gr 1–3 read at grade level in their home language. Full report: readingpanel.co.za/resources
Frederick Douglass said, "Once you learn to read, you will be forever free." In South Africa, where 81% of Grade 4 learners cannot read with comprehension, Prof Faranaaz Veriava poses a question: when will literacy be treated as a right?
dailymaverick.co.za/opinioni…
Repetition works for some learners, but its reach is small, and it costs ~8% of SA’s basic ed budget. What could be achieved if we invested in early reading support from the onset?
Read more: readingpanel.co.za/resources
2098
That’s when all SA children will read for meaning if we stay on our current path.
We have 4 years to change that.
This isn’t a policy issue. It’s a national emergency.
What needs to shift now, and what’s already working news24.com/citypress/voices/…
Prof Sizwe Mabizela on the solutions to address the foundational learning crisis in South Africa.
Read the full 2026 Report here 👉readingpanel.co.za/resources
#2030ReadingPanel
🤖 Made with AI
The 2026 Reading Panel Background Report focuses on evidence, progress & scaling what works.
From provincial data to teacher preparation & system reform, the conversation moved from insight to action.
Read the full 2026 Report here 👉 readingpanel.co.za/resources
#2030ReadingPanel
SA’s literacy crisis goes beyond reading words, it’s about reading for meaning.
Gugs Mhlungu speaks to Nikki Bush on what the 2026 #2030ReadingPanel report reveals & what ECD centres & schools must do next.
Listen to the full conversation @Radio702 🎧
omny.fm/shows/weekend-breakf…
81% of children can’t read for meaning by age 10.
But we know what works. Now it’s about turning that into action.
A powerful piece from Dr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka 👇
mg.co.za/thought-leader/opin… via @mailandguardian
#2030ReadingPanel
From teacher preparation to learning materials, assessments and provincial implementation, the focus is clear: strengthen what works and scale it.
#2030ReadingPanel
The 2026 Reading Panel Report highlights what the latest evidence tells us about early grade reading in South Africa.
#2030ReadingPanel
ReadingPanel retweeted
[LISTEN] Author of the 2030 Reading Panel's 2026 report, Sipumelele Lucwaba says only about 30% of Grades 1 to 3 learners read at grade level in their home language, confirming South Africa's reading crisis persists.
🔗omny.fm/shows/update-noon-1/…
#sabcnews #UpdateAtNoon
ReadingPanel retweeted
The 2030 Reading Panel’s 2026 report, released on Tuesday, reveals that 15% of Grade 3 pupils in South Africa cannot “decode even a single word by the end of their third year of formal schooling”. @DBE_SA
citizen.co.za/news/south-afr…
ReadingPanel retweeted
WATCH | Only 3 in 10 South African pupils can read at grade level by grade 3. This follows the release of the 2030 Reading Panel report, which draws on national data on foundational reading skills across all South African languages.
It's important that civil society, corporates, philanthropists, NGOs & other key stakeholders work together to support the government to ensure that all children in South Africa can read for meaning by the age of 10.
Get the report here👉readingpanel.co.za/resources
#2030ReadingPanel
ReadingPanel retweeted
Happy Birthday to #reading Activist and #AfricanAuthor @PukuBooks ED @ElinorSisulu 🎊 – at Zandspruit, South Africa
Children learn to read faster & with deeper understanding when they start in a language they know well. But access to quality books and reading materials in those languages still isn’t equal across the system.
Download the report and explore the insights👉readingpanel.co.za/resources
If South Africa is serious about improving early grade reading, the focus has to start where learning begins. Evidence shows that strengthening the foundation years can shift outcomes across the whole system.
Get the 2026 Reading Panel Report 👉readingpanel.co.za/resources
Children learn to read faster & with deeper understanding when they start in a language they know well. But access to quality books and reading materials in those languages still isn’t equal across the system.
Download the report and explore the insights👉readingpanel.co.za/resources
ReadingPanel retweeted
Speed - systemically, yes - and more time on daily classroom programmes - especially for Grade 1. Sometimes we underestimate the fleeting moments in which the working memory functions - hearing sounds and linking them to letters and how rapidly it has to shift. More time.
ReadingPanel retweeted
Latest #SouthAfrica @ReadingPanel report reveals that only 30% of 6-9 year olds are reading at grade level in their home language.
Find out more👉 go.ipned.org/3mhegf
@NicSpaull @GatesAfrica @ZenexF @PresidencyZA @FLN_Matters
#EnsureEveryChildLearns #FLN
