My name is Nic Spaull and I’m a Senior Program Officer in the Global Ed team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation where I focus on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy in Sub-Saharan Africa. Before that I was an Associate Professor in the Economics Department at Stellenbosch University, and advisor to the Allan & Gill Gray Foundation. Founder of Funda Wande. Full CV here. So this is my blog, which is a selective collection of thoughts about my reality and anything else I think is interesting or noteworthy. I’m also on Twitter and (occasionally) Instagram.
Also, I believe that wherever possible we should share information. Information empowers people, and enables them to make better decisions and to take advantage of more opportunities. So wherever feasible I’ve included links to whatever I’m talking about, or better still, the actual document. Onward and upward…
[And thanks to Michael Chandler for the cool sketch on the right]
Nic Spaull 
Nic this is perfect 🙂
Its better than that!
Dear Nic Read your article in the ST today and a number of your previous articles. I was impressed and would very much like to meet with you ASAP please.
I do believe that I have established a part solution to the Maths & Science crisis in SA. I have endorsements form Prof Jonathan Jansen, Prof Kobus Meiring and Dr Stacey Nickson on the work that I am doing – but I need further input and support from someone like yourself, please.
Please have a look at our website at: http://www.mathsandscience.com for more information about what we have already done for SA Maths & Science teachers in the past 18 months. I think that you will be very pleasantly surprised!
Could you contact me at: mwteach@mweb.co.za so that we can set up a meeting, please. This has really become urgent.
Many thanks
John Bransby
Director
Maths & Science Solutions
Hi Nic,
I am thoroughly enjoying your Q&A category.
Is there any chance you could cover the topic of sustainable development with a professional in the field.
Please let me know!
It is going to take you just few years to become a professor. Infact, it might happen as soon as you obtain your PhD
Wow Nic. This is amazing. Well done. You deserved the whole English prize in matric. I hope we can meet up soon 🙂
I am against racism and I’m a curro thatchfield student and it’s not resist but it little problem I’ve been accused of a lot of things I’m about to get suspended for something I didn’t do, people in curro and when white students get in trouble nothing happens. I’m going to sue this school
Great work Nic. I’m a Sociology PhD student at Rhodes and trust me when I say, your blog and following all the great work you’re doing has definitely made the entire process all the more insightful, a lot less overwhelming and even enjoyable. Thank you and well done on all the work you’ve done.
Hi Nic, Great insight! Enjoyed the article on Languages in schools. I would like to cite your work as a reference. It would be really helpful if you can add a “How to cite this article” section to your blog, using the Harvard referencing format. Thanks!
Hi Nic, I’m a Masters in Security Studies student at UP and exploring how the drop-out rate in high school and education inequality may pose a threat to human security in SA, reading a lot of your articles with great interest. Have you only examined primary school education as being the link to inequality? Can you direct me to anything relating to high school scholars that reaches similar conclusions?
Kind Regards
Michelle
Goodness gracious Dr. Where do you plan to end giving away land for development? My tennis club is situated on a prime piece of land worth about R25 m. A few privileged players are using this facility. Do you advocate that this must also be developed? In a any city you need sporting venues to satisfy the human need to relax, compete and exercise?
Good day I’m interesting in getting the articles and readings.
You are doing a great job. Thank you for the empowerment.
I’m listening to you on Carte Blanche and the sad news that so many children cannot read. I’ve been teaching children to read for 30 years and would like to help young children from the age of 3 years.
Hello Nic I am listening to The Daily New York Times Podcast called The Fight Over Phonics, June 6 2023. I know that I need to read an enormous number of your articles to answer many of my questions. This podcast explains the debate on reading methodology – balanced literacy vs science of reading – and all the rest of it. What is fascinating is that it seems that reading and presumably reading for comprehension, is a massive issue in the USA too. Fascinating too is the idea that the NAACP wants to see Professor Lucy Calkins held to account for creating a situation where such a large number of American children “cannot read.”