Partnering to advance foundational learning

Critical challenges in literacy and numeracy in South Africa

81%

of Grade 4 Children in SA cannot read in any language.

PIRLS 2021 Findings

63%

of Grade 5 Children fail to reach the Low International Benchmark in basic mathematical knowledge (four operations).

TIMSS Numeracy Results

50%

of children in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Limpopo don’t know all letter-sounds by the end of Grade 1.

EGRA Data Insights

Numbers show aggregated scores but the wealth gap is very evident in disaggregated scores. Poorer provinces perform significantly below the average.

Increasingly seeing worsening of performance of boy-child compared to the girl-child.

Mother tongue learning is a strong predictor of better performance.

FLOAT’s goal

FLOAT is a collaborative initiative dedicated to enhancing literacy and numeracy for Grades R-3 in South Africa.

A collaborative approach

Recognising that many donors have been working in this area for several years, the FLOAT approach is to work collectively with government to:

  • Understand provincial reading and numeracy strategies.
  • Align support with provincial plans to improve FLN outcomes.
  • Pool donor funding to maximize the impact of initiatives.

Focused impact

Float will be starting the following 3 programmes in 2026:

Mabafunde Bonke is a Home Language literacy programme for Grades R–3, reaching 1,638 rural schools across four Eastern Cape districts. It provides complete reading materials and 16 days of structured teacher training, with a transition from external partners to district subject advisors for sustainability. Rollout is phased from 2025–2028, supported by annual EGRAs and written assessments.

Operation Tharollo in the Free State supports 458 quintile 1–3 schools with integrated literacy and numeracy materials, structured lesson plans, maths resources, and 32 days of teacher training. The province strengthens monitoring through expanded EGRAs and new EGMAs. Rollout occurs over five years, starting with Home Language in Grades R–1 and adding maths and higher grades progressively.

Gauteng’s initiative strengthens Grade 3 literacy and numeracy in 394 multilingual, no-fee schools across seven districts, providing structured lesson plans, reading materials, maths worksheets, and termly training on differentiated multilingual teaching. An enhanced package offers on-site coaching for departmental heads in 194 highly diverse schools. Rollout begins in 2026, with bilingual maths added in 2027 and EFAL introduced in 2028.

The following service providers will be working as partners to government and Float to implement these initiatives:

We are partnering to advance foundational learning.