The national priority of educating the youth of SA is under threat if the unacceptably high rate of school dropout continues unabated.
According to a report from the recent National Income Dynamics Study – Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (Nids-Cram) data, on the number of children who have not returned to school in 2021, between 650,000 and 750,000 dropped out in the last school year during the pandemic.
These are worrying statistics which fly in the face of the Basic Education Act, which compels parents to ensure that their children attend school. Those who fail to do so are guilty of an offence and can be fined or be imprisoned to a sentence not exceeding six months.
Deputy minister of education Reginah Mhaule stresses the importance of basic education by saying it is critical for children’s growth and economic activity in the future. Briefing the National Council of Provinces recently on school dropout management and prevention plans, she said only 50% of pupils complete schooling, and attributes this to a weak culture of teaching and the deleterious impact of Covid-19.
To the list of causative factors can be added the scourge of teenage pregnancy with the reality that of the 120,000 pupils who fall pregnant yearly, only a third return to school.
In essence, to drop out means to leave the school system without obtaining a National Senior Certificate (NCS) in grade 12 or equivalent, such as NQF level 4. The department of basic education (DBE) has recently approved a policy on teenage pregnancy, and according to acting DG Granville Whittle: “One of the key tenets of that policy is that learners who do fall pregnant must be allowed to return to school as soon as possible and in the period when they are off because of the pregnancy, that they be allowed to return, but also that schools provide ongoing educational support to them during that time.”
The causes of school dropout are complex and can include the importance of parental involvement or lack thereof. It would be unrealistic to expect pupil achievement to shoot through the roof in the absence of parental involvement.
Most parents, particularly from the township, possess a crisis mentality that compels them to attend school matters only during crises such as when a principal is accused of stealing school funds. They will fill the hall on such occasions but will not attend a parents meeting to discuss the academic progress of their children.
Their lack of commitment becomes evident when asked to contribute towards the fundraising drive, they cite their unemployment. Surprisingly, when invited to parents' meetings, they say they are unavailable because they are employed.
Parental involvement – from regular communication with teachers to familiarity with the child’s academic schedule, courses and progress towards final graduation, remain central to pupil success and retention.
Another forceful factor that contributes to dropout is language. The lack of proficiency in English, the language of learning and teaching (LOLT) by both teachers and pupils has dire implications for the quality of classroom interaction and thus influences dropout and retention rates.
The creation of multilingual classrooms should be ideal. The strengthening of the foundation phase and the de-emphasis on matric as a sole barometer of the effectiveness of an education system also needs to be emphasised.
The impact of school dropout is debilitating because young dropouts are likely to engage in risky behaviour such as the use of tobacco, marijuana and other drugs. They also accelerate the rate of unemployment, thus exacerbating the "not in education, employment or training (NEET)" problem.
The ripple effects are manifold and include an escalation of poverty and crime, among others. Zero Dropout Campaign director, Merle Mansfield, says: “Dropping out prevents young people from reaching their full potential, reinforcing cycles of poverty and inequality that prevents us from moving forward as a nation.”
She also argues that dropout is a culmination of years of disruption, which detaches pupils from their education and creates gaps in basic learning. As prevention is better than cure, there needs to be an early warning system which tracks academic performance, behaviour and absenteeism.
Through such tracking, intervention strategies such as psychosocial support or referral can be implemented for support and care. Young people need all the care and support they can get and this should come from the parents, the education professionals and the state through the provision of enabling structures to assist their education and in overcoming barriers to learning. They need someone who has their back to avoid what UN secretary-general Antonio Gutteres refers to as a “generational catastrophe”.
To circumvent the undesirable probability of a national regression, the youth of SA must be kept in the classroom and complete their schooling to bolster their socioeconomic prospects.
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