To address the high number of recently matriculated, unemployed youth, Shine Literacy launched a Youth4Literacy (Y4L) programme at Zonnebloem Boys Primary School.
The organisation, which offers literacy support programmes in primary schools in four provinces across the country, seeks to create a culture of reading in schools, homes, workplaces and communities.
The Y4L programme aims to address the shortage of reading and writing literacy skills in children in the Foundation Phase (Grades 2 to 3).
Pumza Marubelela, Communication and Stakeholder Manager for the organisation, says they also seek to have a positive impact on curbing the increasing youth unemployment rate in South Africa.
“The Y4L programme cleverly tackles two societal issues all in one go; by training unemployed youths to become reading partners (RPs) for learners and placing them in partner schools with the guidance of experienced foundation phase school teachers, as well as offering daily literacy support to all Grade 2 and 3 learners in class.”
The programme, which kicked off in February this year, has been running in 22 schools in the Western Cape.
So far, 130 youth have been trained in the Shine Literacy reading methodology (paired and shared reading) and placed in Grade 2 and 3 schools across Cape Town.
“The RPs are trained to conduct a paired reading session with each child, daily, and are shown how to read stories to the whole class (shared reading). RPs are also responsible for monitoring books that children borrow. We see their role through this endeavour as a supporting partner for the RP to work in collaboration with the class teacher and to conduct any other activities that support a reading culture at school.”
Marubelela says schools should be a place where the daily reading of books and writing activities are a priority.
“As we still fight the literacy crisis in South Africa, more than half (58%) of children in Grade 4 do not learn to read fluently and with comprehension in any national language. This means that a shocking 29% of children are still functioning illiterate.”
At the launch on Thursday 28 July, speakers emphasised the importance of reading with comprehension.
Alison February, Chief Education Specialist: Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI) Directorate in the Western Cape Education Department, stressed the importance of placing unemployed youth as teaching assistants in schools. She says, firstly, this ensures that teachers and learners get the support to catch up on learning losses and, secondly, she says employing youth as teaching assistants provides them with job readiness skills and allows them to earn a stipend.
Ridwan Samodien, principal of Kannemeyer Primary School in Grassy Park, explains why creating a culture of reading in schools is necessary for South Africa to overcome illiteracy levels at foundation phase. He says at the school they have started a KPS Reading revolution initiative which seeks to involve parents and the wider community, to sit with children and develop a love for reading.
“When the president started the PYEI, we benefited by having about 15 teacher assistants at our school. They all have different functions but what we did with our partnership with Shine Literacy is to train all of them to become reading partners.
“This is in addition to Shine Literacy’s Y4L programme. They too have been trained to become reading partners. Every day they are responsible for letting me know how many learners they have gifted with an opportunity to read.”
Samodien says they have already seen a visible change in the learners’ academic performance.
Thobeka Gqirana, Foundation Phase HOD and a teacher at Litha Primary School in Gugulethu, explains how having Shine youth reading partners in the classroom has helped learners catch up and get more reading time in the classroom.
Gqirana says: “They are helping us so much. Vuma packages have sound and phonics. So they start reading from the cover of the book so that the learner can master the sound that they are going to read about. I can see a great change in my class and at the school.”
Marubelela says the organisation is grateful for all their Y4L reading partners.
“Thank you to our partnering schools, NGO partners and all our Y4L funders, especially Astron Energy who continue to contribute positively to literacy initiatives in the Foundation Phase.”
