Learning their ABCs

Durban - The READ Educational Trust recently evaluated the literacy capabilities of 60 pupils at Nomfihlela Primary School in Kwa-Ximba, KwaZulu-Natal, with challenging results. The average literacy percentage posted was 22% among the first three grades of the school. The assessments are the first steps in the Sven Tumba Education Fund (STEF) programme being rolled out at the school.

About 60km north of Durban, Nomfihlela Primary School is the first school to benefit from STEF, a partnership between Swedish sports icon, Sven Tumba and pharmaceutical AstraZeneca, and launched in Durban at the end of 2006.   The STEF aims to develop a student support model for children in the foundation stage of schooling, namely grades 0-3. Its vision is to adapt an approach that will develop literacy, basic numeracy, skills and the participation in sport to re-enforce discipline and build character.

Says Nombulelo Sikhosana, READ co-ordinator president, “We randomly selected students from grades one to three and sat with each child over a three-day period to conduct our one-on-one literacy test. For grade one and two, each test was performed twice, once in the child's home language, IsiZulu and the second test was conducted in English.  The grade three tests were only in English and included one reading comprehension (where the answers were either choosing the correct answer or writing their own sentence); spelling and word lists.”

As one of READ's key competencies in developing efficient evaluation systems, each test is divided into seven categories including, object identification; letter/sound recognition; word identification; sentence comprehension, word production; sentence production and spelling.      
                                                                                                                  
As to be expected, the English literacy rates were the poorest across all three grades, the lowest being that of the grade ones at a mere 6%. Quite surprisingly, the highest IsiZulu literacy results were recorded from the grade two pupils at a staggering 90%.

However, with the average literacy percentage posted being an unsatisfactory 22%, the STEF, founding donor AstraZeneca, teachers, pupils and all other stakeholders alike, have much hard work ahead.

Adds Sikhosana, “What I found so refreshing at Nomfihlela Primary School was its atmosphere and well mannered pupils. The children were very happy and excited to take part in the READ literacy testing process. I found the teachers to be receptive to our shared reading methodology and have already begun interacting successfully with their classes using the large over-sized readers which depict both text and pictures for the students to follow.”

Numeracy tests will follow later this year, with the same literacy tests to be completed with the same pupil base within the following 12-months in order to gauge the reading progress of the group.

Commenting on the results, AstraZeneca transformation manager, Buhle Moyo says, “We wholly understand the enormous challenges set before us, but hope that through the STEF approach to schooling, we will create a cycle of success for the future of education in South Africa. One that will allow STEF the opportunity to substantially improve the facilities and quality of education in one school in Kwa-Zulu Natal, before targeting other schools within our country and indeed, the world. It is our ultimate intention to replicate this approach and share its research and knowledge with the global community.”