NATIONAL NEWS - As government prepared to finalise its policy and budget priorities for the year ahead, the 2030 Reading Panel will release its highly anticipated 2026 report on 24 February, setting out clear, evidence-based recommendations to strengthen early reading in South Africa.
The report will follow a two-day national conference bringing together provincial education leaders, policymakers and decision-makers to discuss a decisive path forward for reading in South Africa.
“South Africa’s reading crisis remains one of our most urgent challenges, but it is also one of our most solvable,” says former Deputy President Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who chairs the panel.
“We know what works. Provinces are already demonstrating that evidence-based interventions can be implemented at scale. What we need now is a long-term, budgeted national plan that ensures every child learns to read for meaning before the age of 10.”
Currently, 81% of Grade 4 learners cannot read for meaning in any language, and only 30% of Grade 1–3 learners perform at grade level. The 2030 Reading Panel’s latest assessment will give greater insight into both the depth of the challenge, and the promise of emerging solutions.
The panel’s 2026 report will outline clear recommendations built on this momentum: implementing universal, standardised reading assessments; allocating meaningful budgets to reading resources; providing a minimum set of reading materials to all Foundation Phase classrooms; and strengthening teacher preparation through ongoing audits of pre-service education programmes.
“As national leaders consider budget priorities and policy direction, we’re calling for reading to be treated as the policy imperative it is,” says Sipumelele Lucwaba, who leads the secretariat, 2030 Reading Panel.
“Education represents our largest budget allocation – more than R300 million each year – yet early reading outcomes remain weak. We must ensure those resources translate into every child acquiring the foundational skill that unlocks all other learning.”
The two-day conference on 23 and 24 February will feature panel discussions and keynote addresses examining the report’s findings and workshopping practical solutions.
While Day 1 will be a closed working session for provincial education leaders, Day 2 will include broader stakeholder engagement focused on translating evidence into action.
The 2030 Reading Panel emphasises that addressing the literacy crisis requires sustained political will beyond election cycles.
Learning and teaching support materials, structured teacher training and systematic measurement of learner outcomes must be embedded as non-negotiable system features, not optional add-ons subject to shifting priorities.
“Recent planning documents have begun to blur reading into broader educational priorities,” notes Dr. Mlambo-Ngcuka. “While breadth matters, so does specificity. Reading for meaning by age 10 is the foundation. Without it, inequality deepens and opportunity narrows. Our recommendations provide a clear roadmap for turning momentum into lasting systemic change.”
The Panel’s 2026 report will be published on 24 February and available here.
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