Abstract
This article examines the myriad of challenges faced by primary and secondary school going children amongst the San community in their quest to attain formal education in rural Tsholotsho, Zimbabwe. Using a mixed method approach, the study utilised focus group discussions from selected primary and secondary schools, key informant interviews with headmasters and teachers and also survey questionnaires supported by an ethnographic research design. It emerged from the study that long distance travelled to school, abject poverty, dilapidated infrastructure and the perceived negative attitude towards education has had telling effects on the marginalised San community. The hindrances to attaining formal education has tended to solidify the existing stereotypes, prejudices and social labels against the San community by other ethnic groups as “separatists”, “non-conformist” and at worst “primitive” in as far as participating in modern and mainstream development is concerned. The article suggests that there is a need for a paradigm shift in attitude and behaviour of development agents and actors in their policy positions and their interventions to the San community. Formal education for the San community will be hard to achieve as long as institutions perceive them as subaltern citizens, who are a nuisance.
Highlights
This article examines the myriad of challenges faced by primary and secondary school going children amongst the San community in their quest to attain formal education in rural Tsholotsho, Zimbabwe
In Southern Africa, the San people are found in seven countries; namely, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Angola, South Africa and Zimbabwe, with an estimated population of 113 000 (Hitchcock et al, 2016)
These exert unequal power dynamics and socio-economic relations point to the difficulties that the San community has experienced with regards to integration into the wider society, and in particular, into their neighbouring Ndebele and Kalanga communities (Robins, 2001b)
Summary
This article examines the myriad of challenges faced by primary and secondary school going children amongst the San community in their quest to attain formal education in rural Tsholotsho, Zimbabwe. The San were moved to their current location in Tsholotsho, away from the Hwange National Park, during the colonial era when it was designated a wild-life area under the Game and Fish Preservation Act of 1929 (Madzudzo, 2001) Their proximity to the Hwange National Game Park, in the extreme southern and western parts of Tsholotsho district, is strategic for hunting-based livelihoods opportunities (Hitchcock, 1999). They live in the outlying parts of the District, towards the national game park, alongside the Ndebele and Kalanga communities (Madzudzo, 2001). It is important to conduct comprehensive studies in order to understand how the twin processes of modernization and globalization is affecting marginalized communities' livelihood asset portfolios and resilience capabilities (Robins, 2001a)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
