The Department of Basic Education expressed concern about the poor performance of pupils following the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study.The Department of Basic Education has voiced concern about the poor performance of pupils assessed in African home languages.The department said it was unsurprising that pupils did well in the assessments in English and Afrikaans.
Mweli said it was unsurprising that pupils who were offered the assessments in English and Afrikaans did well. He said the primary focus was home language literacy, with added support for English as a first additional language.