Blackouts having an effect on education: analyst

JOHANNESBURG - The electricity crisis is having an impact on all of us and school pupils are also being affected.

A recent study found that most Grade fours can't read for understanding.

Education expert Kathija Yassim says blackouts' impact on learning is often subdued.

She said, "now of course the impact of load shedding is on all aspects of life, but more especially there has been a focus on the economic aspects and somehow the education aspects has often been subdued."

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"The problem is multi-faceted it's not only impacting teaching and learning but it is also impacting life routines that are important for growth and development in general."

"Not only did the pandemic impact our education system in that our kids had a lot of loss of learning time; we also had the recent studies showing our kids are struggling with literacy."

"This is just an indication that our education system is deteriorating at a rate that needs urgent attention."