Words: Alicia English Images: Getty Images
If literacy is indeed considered to be a human right, then the future seems especially bleak for 78% of South African learners in Grade 4 who can’t read with understanding, and the 62% of Grade 4 learners who do not have school libraries. These and other shocking statistics were revealed by the 2016 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), which monitors reading literacy trends and assesses comprehension in reading every five years. Moreover, 60% of South Africans live in households without a single book, according to the 2016 Report of the South African Book Development Council.