Retaining scarce skills teachers in a South African rural community: an exploration of associated issues

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ABSTRACT The concept, ‘scarce skills’ and learners’ performance in scarce skills subjects has been a subject of scholarly and political discussion, for more than three decades, especially in South Africa. Unfortunately, despite efforts to increase the population of qualified individuals with scarce skills, South Africa is yet to achieve the desired result. While the focus on development of scarce skills in South Africa has largely centered on citizens within the urban areas, less research has concentrated on the development of scarce skills in South African rural areas. Therefore, using choice theory as a framework, this study explored associated issues of retaining SST in the Mutale area, located in the Vhembe district, Limpopo province, South Africa. This study employed a qualitative research design comprising eight purposively selected participants. Data was gathered using a semi-structured interview. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis. The following themes resulted from the analysis: Availability; emigration; motivation; and limited production and supply of scarce skill teachers. Based on the findings, the study recommends an improvement in the production and deployment of qualified scarce skill teachers to rural secondary schools. Scarce skill teachers in rural secondary schools should be highly motivated and encouraged to stay as teachers in rural secondary schools.