Funda Wande is proud to celebrate Nelson Mandela Month by 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 2019 COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated these issues, leading to substantial learning losses and putting children’s education at risk.
Recognizing 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 program to supplement classroom learning experiences This programme, supported primarily by the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative, involves Teacher Assistants (TAs) who play a critical role in assisting learners and supporting teachers in various tasks.
In Limpopo, 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 Teacher Assistant (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.
In honor of the Mandela Month theme, “It’s still in our hands to combat poverty and inequality,” Funda Wande will host 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 will include a visit to a school in Polokwane, where partners and funders will observe 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. “”As our country ushers in the seventh democratic administration following the successful conclusion of the 2024 National and Provincial Elections, this presents an opportunity to realign our collective energies to build the country we envisioned at the start of democracy, which includes taking care of the most vulnerable in our midst and providing hope through education,” Metu added.
About Funda Wande:
Funda Wande, a member of Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropies, is a not-for-profit organization that tests and scales solutions that enable children to read for meaning and calculate with confidence by age 10. We do this by developing high-quality learning, teaching support materials, pre-and in-service teacher professional development, and designing and supporting models that are rigorously researched. The insights gained from our independent evaluations are used to advocate and influence government take up and scale.
Media Contact: Sam Gqomo
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