It is estimated that nearly 8 out of 10 Grade 4 students in South Africa cannot read for comprehension in any language. The ability to read and comprehend text is one of the most critical skills for children to develop. It is a cornerstone of education that sets the stage for lifelong learning and has a direct impact on the child’s future quality of life.

South Africa's illiteracy problem is a complex issue shaped by many interconnected factors. The legacy of apartheid has introduced inequality into the South African education system, which, despite significant efforts to address these injustices, still remains today.

A significant contributing factor is the lack of an adequate measuring system to monitor progress. If parents and teachers cannot track how well a child can read and how fluently they can read, they have no way to intervene and provide adequate support. Additionally, how can we identify successful intervention strategies if we have no benchmark? Consequently, a national benchmark and track performance levels across the school system are needed.

Addressing this literacy gap requires a comprehensive approach, which starts with improving the ECD program in South Africa. To this end, ItCognify has developed the Early Grade Reading Assessment platform (EGRA) to facilitate reading assessment in the early grades by teachers, parents, and even the children themselves in all official languages. This platform provides educators with the data needed to evaluate a learner's reading proficiency, identify areas of weakness, and develop targeted interventions while making reading a fun and enjoyable experience for the child.

If interventions are not implemented soon, our country’s future workforce may be largely illiterate. As such, addressing the reading crisis in the early grades is not just an education issue; it's also about breaking the cycle of poverty, promoting social equality, and enabling sustainable economic development. It is a major social and economic dilemma that requires immediate and sustained action.