Abstract
South Africa experiences a significant amount of dropouts of high school learners every year. Only about 45% of learners who start primary school in a given year write matriculation examinations after 10 years of schooling. A high dropout rate deprives the country of well-informed and competent future leaders. This study looks at the factors that underlie dropout in high schools in the Vhembe district. A random sample of 5 villages was selected from 25 villages which have high schools. A census of high school dropouts in these 5 villages was conducted. About 660 dropouts were obtained and interviewed. Applying regression modeling, this study shows that poor performance, attitude, punishment and pregnancy are the factors affecting dropout in Vhembe, and recommends that educators encourage learners to develop positive attitude to school work and also give extra assistance to under-performing learners, and sex education be given with seriousness to reduce unwanted pregnancies.
Highlights
Before the new democratic South Africa was borne, black people were discriminated against and denied quality education by the apartheid policies
I think about 45% of a cohort of learners who start grade R in a given year survive to write matriculation examinations after 10 years, which means that a great number (55.5%) of children are falling by the wayside,”
This study looks at the factors underlying high school dropout in the Vhembe district of Limpopo of South Africa, and tries to make recommendations that it is believed, when executed, will enable the problem of dropout reduced or solved
Summary
Before the new democratic South Africa was borne, black people were discriminated against and denied quality education by the apartheid policies They were not allowed to study for certain programs/degrees, rather they were forced to study some restricted courses or disciplines and could not study for higher qualifications. The problem according to Prof Motala of the University of Johannesburg, is that much higher proportion of the learners drop out without completing high school. She stated that: “it is expected that academic aspirations and performance among the black population would go up and the dropout rate of learners in high schools will go down. Poverty prevalence was very high, as 6 in every 10 persons fell below the poverty line in 2002 (StatsSA, 2003)
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