When digital progress leaves basic literacy behind
- Rennie Naidoo
Digital access is expanding fast across South Africa, but without basic literacy, can it truly empower?
outh Africa, like many of its peers in the Global South, is awash in digital optimism. Coding bootcamps for youth, broadband projects spanning provinces, and classrooms equipped with sleek tablets.
These are the emblems of a country striving to plug into the future. From government blueprints to private sector pilots, “digital literacy” has become a near-sacred phrase: a shorthand for inclusion, a promise of transformation.
Yet beneath this forward momentum lies a quieter crisis, one less visible, more stubborn, and ultimately more consequential, that threatens to trip us up.
According to the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, 81% of South African Grade 4 learners are unable to read for comprehension, ranking the country last among 57 participating countries.
Meanwhile, many public schools have received some form of ICT equipment, from smartboards to tablets. The gap between tools and comprehension is not just a logistical mismatch; it’s a structural flaw in our national development model. Read the full article.