Limpopo youth drive learning

Funda Wande recently celebrated a successful learning intervention, emphasizing the transformative impact of education in Limpopo.

South Africa’s education system has faced significant challenges, including a critical shortage of teachers, deteriorating infrastructure, and persistent management issues.

These obstacles, compounded by pedagogical content difficulties, have resulted in many learners not achieving grade-appropriate reading levels by Grade 4, as highlighted by PIRLS.

The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated these issues, leading to substantial learning losses and putting children’s education at risk.

The lack of opportunities for South African youth is epitomized by the sheer number of individuals “Not in Employment, Education, or Training” (NEET). More than one-third of individuals aged 15 to 24 and over half of those aged 25 to 35 fall into this NEET classification (Khuluvhe and Ganyaupfu 2023).

These youth are predominantly situated in disadvantaged areas, particularly rural communities, where employment opportunities are scarce and geographical distance poses a substantial hurdle to labour market inclusion. These same communities contain some of the most disadvantaged and underperforming schools.

Funda Wande crisis education Limpopo intervention

Recognising that the learning losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other systemic factors amount to a decade of lost progress, Funda Wande collaborated with the Limpopo Department of Education and other partners to develop and implement programs to supplement classroom learning experiences.

This programme, supported primarily by the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative, was developed with a comprehensive set of learning and teaching support materials (LTSM) in African languages. These materials form the basis for a program designed to improve the content knowledge and pedagogical skills of teachers, thereby improving early literacy and numeracy outcomes.

In Limpopo, teacher assistants (TAs) have been instrumental in assisting learners during activities, supporting teachers with marking, conducting remedial activities, handling administrative tasks, working with learners in small groups, and aiding in classroom monitoring. Their contributions have been vital in addressing the immediate needs of the education system and improving learning outcomes for foundational literacy and numeracy.

“What South African youth have achieved through this TA programme goes beyond improving learning outcomes for foundational literacy and numeracy—they have contributed to the long-term sustainability of our country. At Funda Wande, we understand that to combat poverty and inequality, we must ensure that all classrooms in South Africa have a TA, high-quality learning and teaching support materials, and teachers empowered with specialist training on how to teach reading and numeracy,” said Zolani Metu, Head of Programmes at Funda Wande.

Funda Wande hosted an event in Polokwane on July 26, 2024, to celebrate their strong partnership with the Limpopo Department of Education and the role that TAs have played in leveraging education as a tool for combating poverty and inequality. The event included a visit to a school in Polokwane, where partners and funders observed the programme in action.

By showcasing the successes of youth who transitioned from unemployment to successful education assistants through training and support, Funda Wande aims to demonstrate that with the right training, mentorship, and continued support, young people can drive transformative change within the education system.