Vast majority of SA children are functionally illiterateNearly a million (914 000) South African Grade 4 pupils cannot read for meaning in any of the country’s 11 official languages. With 81% of the cohort functionally illiterate, the country places last among the 57 countries and regions assessed in the most recent Progress in International Reading Literacy Study. Illiteracy isn’t only a South African problem. “South Africa has the researchers, teachers and programmes that know how to close this gap,” says Andrew Kay, CEO and founder of World Literacy Foundation. Literacy specialists working on South African reading outcomes, mother-tongue instruction, foundation phase teaching, or adult education are invited to submit a paper or presentation proposal.