Children who start grade one aged below six years at higher risk of having to repeat – The Mail & Guardian

Children who enter grade one at the minimum age of 5½ years are at a significantly higher risk of repeating the year than those who wait until they are six to start school, a study has shown

Children who enter grade one at the minimum age of 5½ years are at a significantly higher risk of repeating the year than those who wait until they are six to start school, a study has shown.

The report by Stellenbosch University also says boys who transition to English as the language of instruction in grade four encounter more difficulties than girls, even though all children begin with similar proficiency in an African home language.

In the Eastern Cape, the repetition rate for boys starting school aged five years and six months was 31%, compared with 19% for girls. Boys who entered grade one a year older, at six years and six months, had a repetition rate of 20%, versus 8% for girls.

“This suggests that younger entrants often may lack the developmental readiness required for formal schooling, leading to early academic struggles,” says the report, the findings of which are partly based on data collected from the Annual Schools Survey published by the department of basic education.

In South Africa, two different streams of application are applied for entrance into grade one. The first rule is that children can start the grade when they are five years and six months, provided they meet this age requirement by the end of the year preceding their entry. The second rule says children can start grade one any time after turning six years, but before turning seven.

The report found differences among the country’s provinces, with KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo appearing to follow the first rule more often. It said 44% of children in KwaZulu-Natal and 47% of those in Limpopo started grade one at the younger age of 5½ years, with just 7% and 4%, respectively, beginning school at 6½ years or above.

North West, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Northern Cape had lower proportions of children starting school at 5½ years.

“This suggests a difference in how the entry rules are interpreted across provinces. Ultimately, these differences are most pronounced at the school level,” Bianca Böhmer, an economics researcher at Stellenbosch University, told the Mail & Guardian. 

She said learners in poorer schools were more likely to repeat grades, drop out or fail to achieve basic proficiency in key subjects such as reading and maths. 

The report found that learners who scored below 50% in grade three home language were more likely to repeat grade four, with repetition rates decreasing sharply for learners who had performed better in the subject. For instance, 98% of learners who achieved 75% or higher in grade three home language passed grade four on their first attempt.

Pupils with weak home language skills in grade three are also more likely to struggle with English as a first additional language in grade four.

The report also showed a relatively low enrolment for grade R — the preparatory year of schooling before grade one — compared with higher grades, which typically have around 1 million learners. It said less than 800 000 learners were enrolled for grade R in public and independent schools, excluding those attending early-childhood development (ECD) centres. 

The Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act, signed in September last year, makes grade R compulsory for all children at a school-starting age and parents who fail to enrol their children risk being penalised.

The report found that enrolment rates decline steadily as learners progress towards grade 12, the final year of schooling. In contrast with grade 10, which often experiences overcrowding due to high repetition rates, enrolment in grades 11 and 12 dropped below 1 million, with grade 12 enrolment falling even below grade R levels. 

“Despite this decline, there has been considerable progress compared to the past, when a much smaller proportion of learners passed grade 10 and reached grade 12,” the report said. 

On Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa underscored the urgency of implementing universal access to quality ECD for children by 2030.

“We’ve seen time and time again how South Africa excels when we come together. We have consistently shown that we can solve difficult problems when we unite for a common cause,” Ramaphosa said at a summit in Johannesburg.

“We have an opportunity to rethink and restructure the entire ECD landscape, making it more effective, more inclusive and more impactful than ever before.”

Last week, Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana announced an additional investment of R10 billion in ECD over the next three years. This is above the R1.9 billion allocated to advance ECD services for the 2024-25 financial year.