EFF statement on the international reading literary study

6 December 2017

The EFF calls for the establishment of a National Education Disaster Committee in light of the outcomes of the International Reading Literacy Study which revealed that 78% of our grade 4 pupils cannot meaningfully read. This result is a clear sign of a generational crisis that will haunt the country for many years. 

It means we are paying teachers who are literally digging generations of children into graves of illiteracy. The country must declare an immediate disaster and form a committee of experts to constitute an investigation of how deep the problem is. We suspect that it runs deeper than Grade 4. The committee must do this with a view to constitute an immediate intervention strategy of educating our children to read and write. 

Blame must be placed squarely on SADTU which is always protecting incompetent teachers from being held accountable. When generations of children are not being taught in our classrooms it is teachers who are to blame. 

The country must not be held at ransom anymore by SADTU and declare an immediate disaster to save generations of children. In essence, we will be saving them literally from incompetent teachers. 

Issued by Mbuyisei Quintin Ndlozi, National Spokesperson, EFF, 6 December 2017