26 November 2025

Honourable Speaker,
Honourable Members of the House,
Comrades and fellow South Africans,

Today we gather to reflect on one of the most fundamental drivers of human development: the ability to read, to comprehend, and to imagine possibilities beyond one’s immediate environment. Reading is not simply a classroom exercise. It is the foundation of participation in economic life, in democracy, and in building an informed and empowered society.

Honourable Members, literacy is not achieved through schooling alone. It is shaped by the home, the community, and the broader social environment in which the child grows. For us to meaningfully improve learning outcomes, we must deliberately expand our interventions beyond the school gates and into the daily lives of families.

It begins from birth. Research is consistent: the first thousand days of a child’s life are crucial for brain development. A child who is spoken to, sung to, and stimulated at home builds the neural foundation for language and comprehension long before entering Grade R. This is why the role of parents and caregivers is not optional rather foundational.

We therefore need to strengthen parental involvement programmes, ensuring that parents understand that reading does not have to be complicated. Simple daily practices telling stories, showing pictures, naming objects around the house, and reading short books can transform a child’s readiness for school.

Honourable Members, too many households, especially in poor communities, lack reading materials. The cost of books is a barrier. Household literacy levels can also limit confidence. This means our response must be systemic:

• Expanding the distribution of free early-childhood reading packs to pregnant mothers and parents of newborns.
• Embedding reading education in parenting workshops connected to clinics, ECD centres, and community organisations.
• Partnering with NGOs that specialise in family literacy, ensuring that every parent whether literate or semi-literate has the tools to support their child.

A nation that reads begins with families that read.

Reading must be visible, accessible, and celebrated in every community. Honourable Members, many children have no quiet place to read at home. Some have no books at all. Community-based programmes can bridge this gap.

We must therefore intensify support for reading clubs, after-school homework centres, and weekend academies that provide safe, structured spaces for learners to read for pleasure, practice comprehension, and receive guidance.

The ANC-led government, together with provincial departments, should expand:

• The provision of mobile libraries and book boxes to underserved communities.
• Partnerships with municipal libraries, ensuring they remain open after hours and on weekends.
• Support for NGOs that run Saturday reading academies in townships and rural villages.
• Incentives for local businesses and donors to support community reading hubs.

Honourable Members, reading cannot be restricted to the classroom timetable. The more opportunities a child has to read outside of school, the more confident and fluent they become. Our goal must be to surround our learners with spaces that welcome reading before school, after school, and throughout the weekend.

Honourable Speaker, one of the critical challenges in our literacy landscape is that many learners do not see themselves in the stories they read. Books that reflect a child’s culture, language, identity, and daily realities make reading more meaningful and engaging.

We must therefore accelerate the production of culturally relevant and multilingual reading materials, especially in African languages. This includes:

• Supporting local authors, especially young and emerging writers.
• Investing in children’s literature that reflects South African contexts, characters, and histories.
• Expanding translation and publishing initiatives to ensure that every school has access to high-quality books in all official languages.

We must confront the uncomfortable reality: children cannot learn when they are hungry, unsafe, or burdened by the effects of poverty. If we are serious about building a reading nation, then our literacy strategy must address the broader conditions that shape a child’s ability to learn.

Hunger remains one of the biggest barriers. The National School Nutrition Programme is a lifeline, yet many children still arrive at school without breakfast. A hungry child cannot concentrate, let alone engage with complex texts. Strengthening school nutrition, exploring breakfast programmes, and supporting community food gardens must be part of our literacy agenda.

Secondly, violence whether at home, in the community, or in schools destroys a child’s sense of safety. Violence is an educational issue. Children who fear walking to school, who face bullying, or who witness crime struggle to focus in the classroom. Strengthening safety protocols, improving policing around schools, and responding to gender-based violence must therefore form part of our reading culture strategy.

Transport challenges also affect attendance and punctuality. Learners who walk long distances arrive tired. They miss out on morning reading sessions, and continuity is broken. Reliable scholar transport must be prioritised in rural areas.

Honourable Members, poverty is not separate from education. It shapes educational outcomes directly. Our task is therefore not only to promote reading—but to fight the conditions that block reading.

Finally, as we deepen this national effort, we must ensure that no child is left behind. Learners with disabilities continue to face barriers in accessing reading materials and inclusive instruction.

We must strengthen the provision of:

• Braille books and tactile resources for learners who are blind or visually impaired.
• Assistive technologies, including screen-reading software and adapted devices.
• South African Sign Language materials for Deaf learners.
• Simplified, accessible texts for learners with intellectual disabilities.
• Training and support for teachers to implement inclusive reading strategies in the classroom and beyond.

Honourable Speaker, inclusion is not charity it is a constitutional duty. A reading culture that does not embrace all learners is not a culture at all.

In conclusion,

Building a culture of reading beyond the classroom is not a programme; it is a national movement. It requires parents who tell stories, communities that open their doors, writers who create with pride, and a state that removes the barriers of poverty and inequality.

Honourable Members, the ANC has always affirmed education as the ladder to freedom and development. Our commitment today is to ensure that every child urban or rural, rich or poor, able-bodied or disabled has the tools to read, to learn, and to rise.

Let us build a South Africa where books are everywhere, where reading is celebrated, and where every child can dream boldly.

I thank you.

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