The report notes that 89% of Grade 3 pupils could not read in Sepedi, 69% could not read in IsiZulu, and 67% were unable to read in Tshivenda.
South Africa’s reading crisis is showing little sign of improvement, with the latest findings painting a bleak picture of early literacy in the country.
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”.
At the same time, only 30% of pupils in Grades 1-3 are reading at grade level in their home language.
The statistics have remained stagnant.
“Currently [2025], 81% of Grade 4 learners cannot read for meaning in any language, and only 30% of Grade 1-3 learners perform at grade level,” the report stated.
The findings suggest that either not enough is being done by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) or that existing interventions are failing to produce meaningful results.
Learning gaps start in foundation phase
Speaking at the Mlambo Foundation Reading Panel Conference, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube said the data confirms a long-standing problem.
She pointed out that both the 2030 Reading Panel’s 2026 report and the Funda Uphumelele National Survey confirmed what “international and national assessments have long indicated: learning gaps begin in the early grades and not in Matric, not in the Intermediate or Senior Phase, but in the Foundation Phase itself.”
Gwarube rejected suggestions that reading had been sidelined.
She said literacy had not been “deprioritised” by her department, but was central to its plans, including Early Childhood Development (ECD) and Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education.
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Provincial and language disparities
Despite interventions, the Reading Panel reported that 89% of Grade 3 pupils could not read in Sepedi, while 69% of pupils could not read in IsiZulu, 67% were unable to read in Tshivenda, and 52% failed to read in English.
The report further detailed the percentage of Grade 3 pupils reaching grade-level Home Language (HL) benchmarks by province:
- Gauteng – 37%
- Western Cape – 43%
- Eastern Cape – 22%
- Northern Cape – 27%
- KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) – 40%
- Mpumalanga – 23%
- Free State – 23%
- North West – 25%
- Limpopo – 19%
“Learners in the Western Cape and KZN are twice as likely to reach the benchmark as learners in the bottom four provinces,” the 2030 panel noted.
It also found that provinces where Sepedi, Xitsonga and siSwati are prevalent recorded the highest zero reading scores.
To address the crisis, the panel has proposed several interventions:
- Universal, standardised reading assessments at the primary level
- Ring-fenced funding for reading interventions to prevent dilution
- Improved teacher preparation and deployment
- Guaranteed minimum reading resources
ECD expansion exceeds target
Expanding on ECD, Gwarube said the department had set a target to register 10 000 ECD centres by 2025.
“I am proud to report that we have exceeded this target, achieving 13 300 registered centres. This matters because children who enter Grade 1 ready to learn are far more likely to become confident readers by age ten,” she said.
The minister outlined her vision for the system:
“I see our role as building a system where:
- Every child enters school ready to learn
- Every teacher is equipped to teach reading
- Every classroom has the materials it needs
- Every district uses data to guide support
- Every partner contributes to a shared national effort
“Let us ensure that reading is not the privilege of a few children, but the birthright of every child,” she concluded.
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