Barriers to learning in rural communities

The case of the former KwaNdebele area and farm schools around Groblersdal

As part of a range of research projects in which SAIDE is involved, Ephraim Siluma undertook a field trip to the Groblersdal area in the former KwaNdebele, Mpumalanga, in February this year. The visit had two purposes. First, he wanted to establish what learning opportunities are available in this area, both within and outside the formal education system. To find out, he visited community-initiated projects to investigate how these projects are run and to get a sense of the types of programmes that are offered. Second, the field trip formed part of a broader research exercise into barriers to learning. Data for this purpose was collected through interviews with principals, teachers, and learners focusing specifically on problems that they experienced in or outside their schools and institutions of learning. In this article, Ephraim Siluma provides his perspective on what he found.

I do not want to dwell in this article on problems I came across in my research, such as lack of strong management, poor communication between district offices and schools, low morale amongst teachers, and lack of resources in schools. Although these problems are commonly experienced in many schools in South Africa, they have been well documented. Rather, I want to focus on social attitudes to school-based learning and the way in which I believe these attitudes impact on schooling. In this article, I discuss some of the problems that learners face in their families and the way in which these affect the process of teaching and learning. I also look at various reasons why facilities are not used in schools.

Social Attitudes to School-Based Learning

South Africa has a long history of appalling matriculation results, especially among African learners. Before 1994, poor results were blamed on the apartheid education system and school boycotts by both educators and learners, which characterized the fight against that system. There were high hopes that the period after 1994 would see a significant improvement in the pass rate of Grade 12 learners. This has, however, not been forthcoming.

Instead, we have seen and heard accusations and counter accusation, with government blaming teachers for the poor results and teachers in turn blaming government for not providing schools with adequate resources to ensure effective teaching and learning. Learners have been blamed for lacking both determination and a willingness to learn, whilst parents are blamed for not taking the education of their children seriously.

The findings of our research in the former KwaNdebele suggest that there are certain traditional and social practices that consume a lot of instructional time and are therefore not particularly supportive of schooling. These practices are, of course, not the only reason for poor performance of learners in schools, but do contribute to this problem.

One example of such a practice is initiation. Among some African communities, both boys and girls have to go to initiation school before they are recognized as adults. In the KwaNdebele area, the initiation process requires that initiates, who are, in most cases, aged between 15 and 21, be kept away from home and the community for two to three months. According to teachers and learners who were interviewed, the initiation practice is so highly valued in the area that parents take their children out of school to undergo the process. Although in the area that I visited, the initiation period for boys takes place only once every three years, it still disrupts schooling significantly, as it usually involves more people than the initiates. For example, younger family members of the initiates are required to take food to their brothers every morning and afternoon. Many schools are forced either to start later than usual or to cope with scores of pupils coming to school late.

According to teachers and learners, some learners struggle to catch up the work that they have missed, which results in poor performance. Some of these learners become demotivated about continuing with school, while others perceive themselves as ‘men’ and ‘women’ who cannot attend classes with or be taught by ‘boys’ and ‘girls’.¹

Learners in one school indicated that a major problem regarding initiation and the extent to which it affects schooling is the attitude of parents, who seem to value traditional practices more than school-based education.² Learners at the KwaNdebele Science School voiced their concern about parents’ attitude towards initiation. They feel that, because of the value that parents place on traditional practices, they do not mind saving for or spending all their money on these practices, rather than on the educational needs of learners. One learner told us that his father stated that, if his son should matriculate, he will have to go to initiation school first before he can think of further studies.

Social and Family Problems

A major problem that emerged frequently in interviews with teachers and learners related to the breakdown of family structures. Such breakdown was often caused by divorce, death of one or both parents, or carelessness and neglect of children by parents. The breakdown in family structures often results in learners staying alone or with people who are not their biological parents. There was evidence that some learners stay in circumstances where they are abused.

I compiled the following two case studies to capture and illustrate some of the problems facing learners, which affect the learning process. There are many other examples of a similar nature. In some cases, teachers and the school management were able to help learners, while in others they could not. Because of the problems they face, some learners quit schooling.

Case 1: The learner’s mother had passed away and the learner went to stay with her aunt (sister to her mom). The aunt’s husband did not want the learner to stay with them, and this caused a serious problem. The learner felt deserted and her performance at school went down dramatically. The learner became withdrawn and was no longer active in class. One teacher noticed this, and called the learner to find out more about the problem. The problem was identified and some teachers from the school were sent to ask her aunt to come to school where she was advised to give more attention and support to the learner. The aunt was also advised to talk to her husband to make him understand the learner’s problem and to support her so that she would feel at home.³

Case 2: The learner’s parents were divorced. The learner stayed with her biological father for some time. Her mother remarried, and the learner left her father to stay with her mother and stepfather. Apparently, the learner was bitter and emotionally distressed by the fact that her mother had married another man. Because of her bitterness, the learner lost respect for her mother and there was serious conflict between them. She decided to leave her mother to stay with relatives.

She went to school to ask for a transfer document, but in terms of the school regulations only parents of learners have the right to collect transfers for their children. The school insisted that she bring her parent. She approached another woman to go to the school to ask for her transfer. Fortunately, the teachers in the school knew her biological mother. They became suspicious and insisted that she bring her mother. Her mother eventually came to school, and during discussions teachers realized that there was a huge gap between the learner and the parent, and that the child was bitter that her mother married another man. Teachers tried to offer advice and they also recommended that the family consult with social workers.⁴

Resources and Facilities in Schools

It is well-known that many schools in South Africa do not have sufficient educational resources and facilities to support the process of teaching and learning. Most of the schools we visited in the former KwaNdebele area had buildings that were still in good condition, but there were also some schools where the condition of some facilities was very poor. Our research in KwaNdebele showed that there are also schools that have well-built facilities - such as libraries, laboratories and home economics centres - that are, for various reasons, not being utilized. We identified three reasons for this problem:

• Schools are unable to raise enough money to purchase the equipment they need for the facilities to be functional. At the same time, unless these facilities are fully functional, it is a waste of resources.

• In some cases school management lacks vision. We found that, in such schools, management failed to take initiatives to improve conditions in their schools and were waiting for the government to do things for them. In one such school, we found books scattered all over the floor, covered with dust in a non-functional library. We understand that the absence of shelves in the library presented a problem, but we believe that those books should at least have been packed in boxes and the place kept clean while management was trying to secure shelving.
  
• Crime and lack of security in schools is another major problem, causing the non-functioning of some of the facilities in schools. In some schools, doors, windows and ceilings had been broken and damaged as a result of vandalism and attempts to steal school property. All the schools that we visited reported that they had been burgled, and that school property, in particular furniture and science equipment, had been stolen. At one school a classroom still had marks left from a fire thugs made on New Year’s Eve to braai a sheep that they had caught and slaughtered in the school yard.⁵ At another, a workshop was broken into and equipment worth R70,000, which had been donated to the school, was stolen.

Conclusion

Although our research in KwaNdebele was done on a small scale, it has come up with interesting findings to show that there are many things that not only affect learners but are disruptive to the whole schooling system.

Though our research was qualitative in nature, and we do not have figures to demonstrate the impact statistically, anecdotal evidence suggests that informal education embedded in traditional practices is highly valued in certain African communities and that it cannot be wished away. The major question is, how should calendars for the formal and informal education in these communities be structured so that they co-exist without one impacting negatively on the other. The impact of traditional practices on formal education is obviously an issue that requires further research.

The research has also clearly revealed that many learners are faced with serious family problems. It is imperative that these learners are given adequate support to cope with abusive and traumatic conditions under which they live or they will be lost to the streets of the big cities.

Last, the research has demonstrated that, although many schools do not have adequate facilities, there are schools that have facilities such as libraries, laboratories, and home economics centres that are not being used for a range of reasons. Leaving these facilities empty and not used amounts to a waste of taxpayers’ money.

Schools & Projects Visited

Among projects that were visited are:

• The Siyabuswa Education Improvement and Development Trust (SEIDET) in Siyabuswa. This project offers extra tuition to Grade 10 to 12 learners, tuition for out of school youth seeking to re-write their matriculation examinations or improve their matriculation symbols, adult basic education and training (ABET), and computer literacy programmes.
• Masifundisane Community Literacy Project in Dennilton. This project runs ABET classes in various villages in the area.
• Vukuzenzele Protective Workshop and Simulation Centre in Kameelrivier B. The centre offers basic literacy classes and training in fence and brick making to disabled people from the village.
• Zivuseni Day Care Centre in Kameelrivier A. This project also caters for disabled people.

The following schools were visited:

• Hlanganani Secondary School;
• Mandlakababa Primary School;
• KwaNdebele Science School;
• Ekuphakammeni Primary School;
• CN Mahlangu Technical College;
• Mooisrivier Primary School;
• Rondekop Primary School;
• Aquaville Primary School;
• Foxteot Primary School; and
• St. Joseph Secondary School.

1. Interviews with educators and learners in schools in the former KwaNdebele (31 January to 03 February 2000)
2. Interviews with learners at the KwaNdebele Science School (3/01/2000)
3. Interview with School Management at Hlanganani Secondary School, 31/01/2000
4. We were informed by a teacher at Mandlakababa Primary School after we asked him what happened to the classroom.