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IOL·September 10, 2026 at 9:05 AM

An opinion piece published by IOL argues that South Africa's reading crisis takes root long before children open their first textbook. The article contends that by Grade 4, children should already have firmly established foundations for understanding stories, interpreting questions and expressing ideas, and that weaknesses in these early skills underpin later literacy failures. It frames early childhood language development and pre-school exposure as decisive factors in whether learners can read for meaning in later grades.

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educationliteracyreading crisisearly childhoodSouth Africa

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