Many young South Africans are born into a world of exclusion and deprivation in South Africa’s townships, and the cards are firmly stacked against their chances of escaping this life of poverty. From an early age, their prospects are hampered by poor-quality schools that offer low curriculum coverage. And outside of school, poor students often have nowhere to do their homework, and little time to do it in because they are kept busy running household errands.
Even when there is time for homework their parents frequently fail to provide an academically supportive environment, since they often lack a basic education themselves and because they are generally pre-occupied with financial worries and other problems of poverty. This mix of unfavourable circumstances leads to poor matric results, and together with a low awareness of post- school opportunities it contributes to high youth- unemployment rates. Read more…
