Literacy facilitator programme launched at Boschrand Primary School in Msholozi
The aim of this programme is to help the learners with poor reading skills to read at grade level.
It was a day filled with memorable events as the Literacy Facilitator Programme was officially launched at Boschrand Primary School on Thursday, September 26.This event was launched by Book World SA, in partnership with the Mpumalanga Department of Education (DoE).
According to Book World SA, it is happy to encourage and empower children connected to the Mpumalanga Department of Basic Education and Standard Bank Nelspruit with literacy development skills. Standard Bank afforded the partnership the opportunity to deliver on the project promise for the benefit of children, youth, women and communities at large.
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The objective of this programme is to help all learners with poor reading skills to read at grade level and increase their literacy level, comprehension and reading attention span by following the Balanced Literacy Approach. This approach takes two methods that have been debated for years and combines them to create a literacy framework that focuses on phonics skills and comprehension.
According to Book World SA, they have recruited 11 unemployed Educare graduates in Msholozi with this programme. They are getting ready to orientate them as literacy facilitators who will be deployed into Boschrand Primary School and three early childhood developments in the community, and will have an income-earning stipend opportunity.
During the day, the DoE’s district director, Dr Jabulani Ndlovu, said they are grateful for this event that took place against the backdrop of Heritage Day. “To us, reading and literacy are part of our heritage. Our collective view, therefore, is that everything humanly possible must be done at all times to advance reading, storytelling and to improve our vocabulary. We feel very sad that in the current information age, most of our people still find it difficult to comprehend the information at their disposal for their own empowerment. More concerning is when young learners struggle to read, write and do arithmetic.”
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Ndlovu said another concern is the reports stating that more than 80% of children 10 years old are experiencing challenges with reading for understanding. “This challenge was exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic when the majority of our children had to stay at home for months without the required stimulation. I remember the former minister of basic education, Angie Motshekga, lamented the fact that Covid-19 had reversed almost all the achievements that had been recorded by the education sector. It is based on this context that we take this opportunity to welcome the collaboration initiated by Standard Bank between the department and Book World SA.”
