A comparative study of the drop-out rate of high school pupils in KwaZulu-Natal: A case study of public and private schools

Abstract

This study’s aim is to assess the factors contributing towards the drop-out rate of pupils in high schools within the uMgungundlovu District (UG). The objectives of the study are to assess if there are existing strategies that can lower the drop-out rates by retaining pupils and thereby improve the through-put rates within the targeted high schools. Literature demonstrates that private schools perform better than public schools in managing their retention strategies and minimising the chances of pupils leaving school. This study is significant since it will provide lessons to be learnt about the challenges and recommendations regarding the drop-out rates in the target schools. The key objective of the study was to examine the factors and encounters that face pupils and teachers in both public and private schooling within the uMgungundlovu District. This study is relevant since it also highlights the difference between private and public schools and the number of pupils who drop-out of both types of schools. This study employed a mixed-method research approach which is a combination of both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The target sample for this study was drawn from the population, and it consisted of 180 learners between grades 10 to 12 from each school - 30 pupils per grade will be chosen to participate in the study. Gender balance was taken into consideration when conducting the survey (school A and B) as these respective schools are both mixed gender schools. For this study, two educators per grade were selected, irrespective of the subjects they teach (six educators from school A and six educators from school B) and two members from the school governing body (SGB) namely the chairperson and one member who had served on the committee for more than two years. The target sample is composed of headmasters from the schools, three officials from the DOE (based on their experience and knowledge of school drop-out rates), and 20 drop-out learners (10 male and 10 female) who had dropped out from both schools. This study revealed that some of the factors attributing to drop-outs are clearly defined in terms of internal attributes such as school capacity, infrastructure, shortage of learning facilities, as well as external factors such as social structures and socialisation of families, political factors, change and transformation of basic education, and an increase in economic costs of education in South Africa. These factors exacerbated the poor performance of learners and teachers and their loss of concentration or passion towards school.