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Success story: Children in Sobral participate in reading time. Sobral has undergone a transformation from one of the poorest places in Northeast Brazil to a municipality that regularly hosts visits to schools regarded as among the best in Brazil. Photo: Centre for Reinventing Public Education

The politics of literacy

In November 2025, the R50 million Funda Uphumelele National Survey (FUNS) delivered the first comprehensive measurement of early-grade reading in all official languages. The findings confirmed what researchers suspected: only 31% of Grade 1 learners can identify 40 letter-sounds per minute — the minimum threshold for reading readiness. By Grade 3, 15% cannot read a […]

  • Library
8 min read
Healthy habits: Selunathi, Libanathi and Luminathi Maphele read from some of their favourite books. Photo: Kearabetswe Nkadimeng

How 20 books make all the difference

Children growing up in homes with many books receive three years more schooling than children from bookless homes, a study shows

  • Eyaaz
7 min read
Aced it: The winning Grahamstown Adventist Primary School team at the Phendulani Literary Quiz. Photo: Nozipho Maphalala

Give children high-quality books from Grades R-12: they will likely read them

Research shows that classroom libraries increase reading frequency by 70% compared with centralised libraries

  • Eyaaz
7 min read