‘If you don’t get early years right, children are unlikely to catch up’: why South Africa is trying to reboot its school system

With 80% of 10-year-olds unable to read for meaning, the government is prioritising literacy and numeracy among pre-school pupils as it tackles its education problems

When she noticed children hanging around with nothing to do after school in the sprawling Johannesburg township of Soweto in 2016, Faith Nedoboni decided to start an after-school programme. But as she helped them with their homework, she realised many, some as old as 13, were struggling to read and write.

Nedoboni, a 57-year-old single mother of three adult children, had never been a teacher. But she was an entrepreneur, first taking over her father’s restaurant and grocery store business after his death and then also selling secondhand clothes.

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