Literacy experts weigh in on the importance of reading

POLOKWANE – Against the backdrop of a study published by the University of Pretoria which found that 81% of Gr 4 learners are struggling to read for comprehension at age 10, last Saturday’s book fair at Nirvana hall showed how this hard truth can be dealt with head-on.

Literacy experts concluded that the role to teach learners did not only lie on teachers, but also society at large and with the premise that parents should allocate time to ignite a love for reading to ensure that their children actively read too and ultimately understand what they read.

This is still with the understanding that parents have a lot on their plate, especially in the city where time is a luxury, Nwala writers’ Muofhe Mulovhedzi said.

“The economic state forces parents to be fending for their families or keeping the focus on ways to improve well-being, while burdened by household chores and actual homework. In the midst of that, there is still an expected effort to allocate even 30 minutes to ensuring that their offspring’s education is moving at a good pace. It is tough, but make time,” she remarked.

The various panels on the day included Polokwane Library officials who agreed that poor reading skills hamper how learners absorb education in the upper grades and would eventually affect literacy levels even for those considered learned in the near future.

While so, the advent of a variety of digitalism and social media use among children, with or without adult supervision, may assist if used correctly, however, its use solely for purposes of entertainment may instill laziness to read abstracts, according to a mother, Laurette Greyling who attended the event.

Mulovhedzi said parents should encourage their children to join reading groups, performance incubator programmes and the use of hard or e-books, a tough duty that is very rewarding if successful, she concluded.