Eight out of 10 grade 4 learners in South Africa need help with reading for meaning, and they need it urgently. This was revealed by the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Pirls) in May 2023, painting a scary picture of the situation in the South African basic education system.

As we commemorate Safer Internet Day on 6 February, this is the one challenge we cannot overlook, and we are convinced that access to digital technologies and the internet could possibly assist in overcoming it.

There are many factors that have contributed to this situation, where 81% of children around the age of 10 years old struggle to read for meaning in South Africa. As school-going children ourselves, although in high school, we have a good understanding and lived experience of why this may be the case.

One such challenge is the lack of additional support (educational and otherwise) from both teachers and parents, which in turn leaves the learners to figure things out on their own after official schooling hours. There are few innovative, digitally based educational platforms that are freely available and easily accessible for learners to use, more so collaboratively with parents and teachers. This further widens the gap between learners, teachers, and parents.

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Additionally, the reading material recommended in the curriculum does not speak to what interests us as learners. To make things worse, we are never consulted and have little to no say in which books are chosen and prescribed for us learners as official reading material. Yet we are expected to read and excel in course material that does not interest us or that which we do not identify with.

This is made worse by the very late or even non-delivery of textbooks that happens every year, together with the fact that some learners have to share these when they eventually arrive. This shows the ineffective and outdated teaching and learning methods that are not learner-focused or in line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution and demands of the 21st century. This is why we are calling for a move away from paper-based learning and embracing the innovative ways of teaching and learning brought about by technology and the internet.

It is for these reasons that we as Web Rangers (digital and media literacy ambassadors) will continue to campaign and advocate for the urgent adoption and implementation of the internet and digital technologies in our schools, together with digital and media literacy skills for learners, teachers, and parents so as a community, we can access and effectively use educational material both online and offline.

This means that we all must move beyond the issuing of laptops and tablets as well as rolling out internet infrastructure, and think about dedicated training and upskilling programmes done by qualified people to capacitate learners, teachers and parents on the use, abuse, and potentialities of the digital world. This would move us much closer to equal access, support, and success for all learners in South Africa, and ensure that the internet is safe and friendly for us to use and explore. Reinforcing ICT-based teaching and learning remains our only hope. DM

Edited by Azola Dayile.

Nombulelo Mzobe and Busisiwe Daza are Web Rangers. Web Rangers is a digital and media literacy programme designed to equip young (aged between 12-17 years old) people with critical skills and knowledge that promote safe internet usage, combat cyber ills and disinformation, advocate for their digital rights and champion their rights in the digital world. To follow the work of Web Rangers, visit www.webrangers.co.za; www.hashplay.co.za; and WebRangersza on Instagram.