The Department of Basic Education (DBE) does not currently track learners who receive Child Support Grants (CSG) and then drop out of school after turning 18. This was revealed after a member of parliament quizzed DBE Minister Angie Motshekga about the distribution of Child Support grants.
Motshega explained that the DBE does not have any data on learners who received CSG payments and then dropped out of school. This makes it difficult to assess the potential impact of the grant on completion rates.
The Department collects child support grant information as part of the biographical data of learners. However, it is self-reported and dependent on learners (or parents) providing the information.
The minister said the department is working on a system to track learners who moved to other sectors like higher education to pursue their matric qualification at a TVET College.
Currently the DBE is unable to provide a response in terms of dropout learners as the Department is still in a process of tracking learners who might have moved to other sectors (such as the Department of Higher Education and Training) as they are not considered as dropouts.
According to the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa), school attendance is encouraged but not mandatory for grant continuation. Sassa currently pays R510 monthly to CSG beneficiaries.
The CSG helps low-income families in South Africa afford basic needs for their children under 18. It's not an income replacement, but rather a form of financial support. To qualify, the caregiver must be a citizen/permanent resident with income below a certain limit. The grant stops when the child turns 18, dies, leaves the country, or enters state care.
How Many 18-Year-Olds Receive CSG Payments
The DBE provided data on 18-year-old learners who are still enrolled in school and are benefiting from a social grant from Sassa. This may include the child support grant. The Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant is available to unemployed adults living in the country.
It indicated that 115,589 learners received CSG payments in 2023. The majority of these learners were in grade 12 (37,1999 learners) and grade 11 (33,199 learners). There were also 29,826 learners in Grade 10 who received child support grant payments.
The DBE doesn't have details on the specific grant type or track students who move to other educational sectors after high school which limits their ability to fully understand the relationship between child support grants and dropout rates.
The department is reportedly working on a system to track learners across different sectors, which could provide valuable insights in the future.
