South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday called on the country’s basic education sector to focus on “numeracy and literacy with special emphasis placed on the importance of reading.”
Ramaphosa said this while addressing a three-day annual Basic Education Sector Summit in Kempton Park in the city of Ekurhuleni which ends on Friday.
The president told the participants that, by focusing on numeracy and literacy, “we want to ensure that by 2030 South Africans have access to education and training of the highest quality, leading to significantly improved learning outcomes.”
He added: “Therefore, all our learners should be able ‘to read for meaning’ by their tenth birthday. Our mathematics and physical science pass rates should also be comparable with, if not better, than nations of similar size and budget.”
The president applauded the basic education ministry and sector for their historic 81.3% high school final exams pass rate achievement this year, adding that it showed an improvement in the education system.
“The impressive 2019 matric pass rate is in line with recent local and international studies that indicate that our system of basic education is on the rise,” the president said.
Hosted by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, the national event has brought together provincial education departments, teacher unions, learner organisations, NGOs, academics, international guest speakers and other stakeholders.
NM/jn/APA