Tswinga Primary celebrates International Literacy Day

The chairperson of the Umlambo Foundation, Dr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, visited Tswinga Primary School outside Thohoyandou on Friday, 29 September, in celebration of International Literacy Day (ILD).

Since 1967, ILD celebrations have taken place annually around the world. The Umlambo Foundation was formed in 2009 with the aim of making a positive impact through interventions that improve the academic performance of learners in public schools.

Dr Mlambo-Ngcuka urged all learners from the Vhembe District to read with understanding and master their mother tongue as a high percentage of learners in Grade 4 still cannot read, write, or count properly. She said that such learners would suffer greatly when they moved on to secondary level.

The circuit manager of the Mvudi Circuit, Dr Livhalani Sinyosi, told the parents who attended the event that they had a responsibility to provide their children with educational needs such as school uniforms, food, and a clean environment at their homes. “Learners need a clean and conducive environment for learning and teaching. You can’t expect good results from learners who must learn in dirty classrooms or dirty homes. Communities around the Tswinga village and the traditional leadership are also urged to give their support to the educators of the school to combat all forms of gangsterism at schools,” he said.

The principal of Tswinga Primary, Ms Antonia Tshamano, said she was thankful and honoured by Dr Mlambo-Ngcuka’s visit to their school for ILD celebrations and her efforts to encourage the children to read more books, while also reminding the parents to be at the forefront and take the lead in making their children take reading, writing, and counting seriously.

Date:08 October 2023

By: Silas Nduvheni

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