08/07/2026
In the 2019 State of the Nation address the President of the Republic of South Africa dealt with issues of literacy and, by extension, reading for meaning. He set out eight objectives to be achieved by 2029 – now just two and half years away. Today we remind everyone of those objectives and in future posts will explore what progress the country has made towards achieving them.
The Foundation Phase CAPS bilingual dictionaries in all official indigenous languages and English, were first published in 2017 and launched at the Department of Basic Education’s head office in Pretoria. The function, was a joint initiative of the Department of Basic Education, the Pan South African Language Board, the South African National Lexicography Units and the individual National Lexicography Units (eleven at that time) themselves. A second launch was held that evening at a prominent bookseller in a Pretoria. The dictionaries were well received by all who attend these functions.
In 2019, after the State of the Nation address, we approached the Presidency requesting permission to use an image of the President delivering address together with eight literacy objectives set out below. Needless to say, permission was granted by the Presidency, in support of our languages and the dictionary awareness campaign conducted in partnership with the Department of Sport Arts and Culture, then DAC. We will set out these objectives in our next post.
The eight key points set out by the President are as follows:
1: “If we are to ensure that within the next decade, every 10-year-old will be able to read for meaning, we will need to mobilise the entire nation behind a massive reading campaign.”
NLU reply: The Foundation Phase CAPS-linked dictionaries were specifically developed to achieve this objective.
2: “Early reading is the basic foundation that determines a child’s educational progress, through school, through higher education and into the work place.”
NLU reply: The Foundation Phase CAPS-linked dictionaries were specifically developed to achieve this objective.
3: “All foundation and intermediate phase teachers are to be trained to teach reading in English and the African languages”
NLU reply: Based within the communities they serve, the NLUs are ideally placed to support this objective by offering teacher training on the use of dictionaries in the language classroom.
4: “Our schools will have better educational outcomes and every 10-year-old will be able to read for meaning”
NLU reply: The Foundation Phase CAPS-linked dictionaries were specifically developed to achieve this objective.
5: “All other interventions will not produce the results we need unless we first ensure that children can read.”
NLU reply: The use of NLU dictionaries is essential to achieve this objective.
6: “Government must create an enabling environment, use public resources wisely and invest in developing the country’s human potential.”
NLU reply: The NLUs are Government Agencies whose resources must be implemented to achieve the State’s language policy objectives.
7: “We look to the parties in this Parliament to be a vital part of this partnership, lending support, insights and effort to promoting the national interest.”
NLU reply: Established by Parliament, the NLUs are an essential part of the partnership to improve literacy.
8: “Now is the time to focus on implementation. We must restore the National Development Plan to its place at the centre of our national effort.”
NLU reply: The NLUs were created to develop dictionaries and other material in support of Government’s literacy development strategies. It is a Constitutional requirement that Government Departments and the NLUs and SANLU co-operate in this regard.
The Units would like to place on record their grateful thanks to the Presidency for supporting our language and literacy campaign by allowing the use of these statements and an accompanying picture of the President on our campaign material.
Terminology list: https://sanlu.africa/terminology-lists-meeting-attendance/
