Billions Lost on Repeating Grades

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The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has revealed that repeating school grades is draining billions of rands from the education budget — funds that many experts say could be better spent on improving early literacy and learning.  

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According to the Funda Uphumelele National Survey, a major national study into reading outcomes for learners in grades 1 to 4, up to 8 % of the DBE’s budget — around R20 billion — is being used to fund the repetition of learners who fail to meet expected outcomes.  

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The same report highlights a troubling literacy picture in South African schools:

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• 15 % of Grade 3 learners scored zero on reading assessments, meaning they could not decode even a single word by the end of their third year of schooling.  

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• Only around 30 % to 31 % of learners in grades 1 to 3 are reading at the expected level in their home languages, according to the survey results.  

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These figures underline a foundational problem: many pupils enter schooling without strong reading skills, which affects their ability to succeed in later grades.

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Research in the report suggests that repeating learners in Grade 1 can lead to temporary learning gains. However, these improvements tend to fade as pupils move up through the system.  

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Experts argue that spending such large sums on repetition isn’t the most effective way to improve learning outcomes — especially when many of the problems begin in the earliest years of schooling.

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Educational researchers and advocates are calling for a shift in how the funds are used. They recommend:

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• Investing more in Early Childhood Development (ECD) so children start school better prepared.  

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• Introducing structured reading programmes in the early grades, which have been shown to deliver more lasting improvements than repeating learners.  

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The evidence suggests that focusing on early learning and literacy could reduce the need for repetition in the first place — breaking a costly cycle and giving learners a stronger start in their education.

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Redirecting funds from repetition toward ECD and structured reading programmes might help more children build essential skills from the beginning of their schooling journey.  

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Education experts warn that unless funding shifts towards effective early literacy support, the cycle of poor reading outcomes and expensive grade repetition may continue.  

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