326 000 learners are believed to have dropped out of South African schools since the year began.
In the Western Cape 114 588 of the pupils who were in school in January could not be accounted for. This is the second highest figure out of all the provinces. This could be due the Covid-19 lockdown which forced schools to close for extended periods and was expected to worsen the dropout rate according to Roné McFarlane, co-head of research at Equal Education.
"It is devastating to anticipate even greater dropout rates than South Africa was seeing before the pandemic... before Covid-19, we were already faced with a situation where over the years 2014 to 2018, around 50% of all 22 to 25-year-olds didn’t have a matric qualification,” said McFarlane.
However, Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga said that the numbers for all the provinces were "vague estimates, rather than concrete projections".
At a school in Samora Machel, 10 matrics have dropped out this year. Pupils have found it difficult to focus knowing that their peers and teachers have tested positive for Covid-19. One learner explains that they had to adapt to studying online even though they had never been taught computer literacy.
At Beacon Valley High School, 11 matrics dropped out this year and the school says that a lot of the students are not getting the necessary emotional support at their homes.
The leaking of the two matric exams have made matters worse, as approximately 42 000 pupils in the Western Cape have been affected by this.
The Western Cape Education Department has said that it will provide students with all the support they need to acchieve academic success.
