The latest Funda Uphumelele National Survey (FUNS) – reveals that 70% of South African learners in the foundation phase cannot meet basic reading benchmarks and highlights the severity of the foundational literacy crisis in the country.- The core challenges facing South Africa’s education system are fundamentally structural, rooted in inequality and limited access to empowering resources. The need for decisive, coordinated action from every education stakeholder has never been more urgent, with both the private sector and government having a critical role to play in closing this widening gap.
FUNS in context
The 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) results, released in 2023, ranked South Africa last out of 57 countries assessed.
A staggering 81% of Grade 4 learners were unable to read for meaning.
The FUNS represents an initial but important step by government to address the literacy crisis. Although early in its rollout, we view it as commendable progress towards implementing more evidence-based interventions and establishing consistent ways to monitor foundational reading development.
Notable insights from the study highlight that learners who first learn to read in their mother tongue show a clear advantage, performing better in English later. This emphasises the importance of reinforcing mother-tongue instruction to build stronger bilingual proficiency. The study also shows that early skills in sound recognition and oral fluency are strongly linked to later success in written comprehension. The ability to read for meaning forms the foundation for success across all subjects as learners advance through the various school phases.
Critical interventions to improve education at foundational level
It is necessary to equip foundation phase teachers with the skills required to effectively deliver literacy instruction. Teaching qualifications have become increasingly theoretical, with less time spent by student teachers in real classroom environments where essential practical teaching skills are learned. As a result, the upskilling of newly qualified teachers is imperative in the South African context to improve teaching quality after qualification. Teachers, however, cannot carry the responsibility of improvement alone. Parental input is absolutely critical to enhancing and solidifying reading skills. Learning does not begin and end at school and parents should be encouraged to foster a culture of reading at home as learning takes place beyond the classroom.
The scale of the problem also necessitates the use of more scalable digital resources as interventions, rather than relying solely on traditional approaches.
Our schools make an impact
At Old Mutual Alternative Investments, our education funds invest in a total of 43 schools across South Africa with over 21 000 students.
The schools within our portfolio follow a CAPS-aligned approach while incorporating additional support for phonics, vocabulary development, and comprehension strategies. The Department of Education’s EGRA (Early Grade Reading Assessment) tool is used to establish a strong foundation for literacy. We have also integrated the DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) initiative into foundation-phase timetables. Through diagnostic assessments and data-driven interventions, we closely monitor learner progress, ensuring that reading challenges are identified and addressed early.
Recognising the importance of mother-tongue instruction, our schools provide extensive multilingual literacy support and carefully scaffold comprehension to ease the transition to English as the primary language of instruction.
Digital platforms such as Ambani Africa, an online reading system that tracks progress, and Google Read Along, which provides real-time feedback as learners read aloud, have enabled us to personalise learning even in resource-constrained settings.
Changing South Africa’s education trajectory requires evidence-based, scalable interventions supported by teachers, parents, government and private stakeholders.
FUNS is a wake-up call; immediate action is needed.