Statistical data shows that more young people have completed high school compared to the past 10 years. However, there remains a large gender disparity, which indicates that women continue to be the most affected.
The problem is more pronounced due to the gender disparity between learners who have not completed high school in the country.
While there have been improvements in reducing the number of people aged 20 and older who have not completed Grade 7 and above over the past ten years, a number of issues still persist. Namely, women have continued to dominate this portion of the country’s learners
In 2011 more than two million roughly 43.9% aged 20 and older that had not completed Grade 7 or any further school grades. Meanwhile, females accounted for a higher percentage of 56.1% with over 3 million. This brought the overall total to more than 5 million people.
By 2019, the above total was reduced to nearly 4 million, with the male portion of the total amounting to 43.3%, while females accounted for 53.7%.
In 2021 the total was further reduced to nearly 4 million as the males totaled 44%, while females accounted for 56% of the overall total. The exact figures of this cohort over the span of 2011 to 2021 are outlined as follows:
2011:
- Male Learners: 2 387 702
- Female Learners : 3 046 779
- Total: 5 434 481
2019:
- Male Learners: 2 046 127
- Female Learners: 2 375 457
- Total: 4 421 584
2021:
- Male Learners: 1 755 136
- Female Learners: 2 230 699
- Total: 3 985 835
Despite the notable improvement in reducing the above-mentioned statistical figures, it is worth pointing out that the arrival of Covid-19 in 2020 resulted in a significant number of school dropouts throughout the country.
As a countermeasure, the government has previously stated that it intends to reduce dropout rates through proposed changes to the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill (BELA Bill).
They proposed a law which would place an obligation on educators, principals and school governing bodies to track learners who stay absent in order to prevent them from dropping out.
