The Department of Basic Education (DBE) said it was disappointed to learn about the misguided online petition led by the “attention-seeking” Mmusi Maimane against Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga.
This comes after Maimane mobilised the public to sign the petition for Motshekga to resign or be dismissed by President Cyril Ramaphosa following the recent results of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) of 2021.
The study stated that 81% of learners in Grade 4 aged between 9 to 10 could not read for meaning in any language.
According to the department, the PIRLS report clarified that the Covid-19 pandemic had a direct impact on the performance of South African learners and even forced schools to close down for an extended period in March 2020.
The department’s spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga, said Maimane’s amnesia was shocking and very disappointing.
He said Maimane’s political posturing exploits were shameless.
“The same Maimane who was against schools reopening in 2020 and ran a petition against Motshekga to force schools to remain closed during the Covid-19 pandemic, now turns around and protests about the impact of what he was campaigning for. Imagine how worse the impact of learning losses due to Covid-19 could have been if the minister had kowtowed to his demands. It is clear that he is inconsistent, ignorant and stands for nothing.
“He is a hopeless narcissist who seeks to undermine and mislead South Africans whom he believes have forgotten his failed stunts which involved taking the department to court.
“In 2020 the Department was taken to court seven times by Maimane and his ilk, with the Constitutional Court, in some instances, ruling in favour of the department.
“These people contributed to the 70% learning losses that learners suffered during Covid–19, which has a direct relationship with how learners performed in the 2021 PIRLS.
“These are a bunch of people who have no clue about education and the future of our country,” he said.
The department said the petition was misguided and would mislead the public about the real challenge facing the country on the matter of reading.
“The PIRLS results are an indication of deeper challenges. The truth is that South Africa is not a nation of readers,” it said.
In an effort to provide a national response to the reading challenges faced in SA, the National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT) together with the DBE’s Read to Lead campaign has established the National Reading Coalition (NRC), a self-sustaining, agile ecosystem of reading initiatives across the country.
The department said the aim of the coalition was to improve coordination amongst various stakeholders, to reduce inefficient overlaps and gaps in the numerous forms of support for reading, promote the adoption of approaches that have evidence of success and increase the opportunities for economies of scale.
“The coalition has recognised the following six areas as critical in the improvement of reading; initial teacher preparation; access to relevant resources; continuing professional development; community support; policy, research and evaluation.
“The interventions will be based on a value chain model highlighting the above-mentioned focus areas.
“The coalition has recognised the following six areas as critical in the improvement of reading; initial teacher preparation; access to relevant resources; continuing professional development; community support; policy, research and evaluation.
“The interventions will be based on a value chain model highlighting the above-mentioned focus areas.
“Improving the reading abilities of all South African children, with a specific focus on ensuring that all learners can demonstrate age-appropriate levels of reading, requires a concerted effort from all stakeholders,” it said.
The department called for support from the public to change attitudes and instil a passion for this critical skill.
It further urged all South Africans, parents, guardians, siblings, community leaders and members to join them in motivating children to make reading a lifestyle choice.
The department also advised parents, caregivers and communities to visit https://www.education.gov.za/Programmes/Read2Lead.aspx to help promote reading for their children.
Current Affairs