Resources

Surviving and Thriving During Matric Exams: Tips for Success

As South African matriculants gear up for their final exams, the pressure to perform can feel overwhelming. The next few weeks are crucial in determining your future, but it’s important to remember that success doesn’t come from burning yourself out—it comes from smart preparation and taking care of yourself. The Zero Dropout Campaign believes that […]

RETHINK school dropout: What does the research teach us?

It is vital that we approach the issue of school dropout with openness and curiosity, paying attention not only to what the research says but to the lived experience of those in our education sector.  There are many stereotypes and preconceptions surrounding school dropout, such as “children drop out of school because they are lazy” […]

I dropped out of school, now what?

What can you do if you find yourself without a matric certificate and struggling to find employment? We looked at three scenarios and potential pathways that a young person in such a position could consider.

Five things we can learn from youth-led strategies in education

What comes to mind when you think about youth activism? Perhaps it conjures iconic images of the 1976 Soweto Uprising or the removal of a statue of Cecil John Rhodes that stood undisturbed on the grounds of the University of Cape Town (UCT) until protests erupted in 2015. How can the energy and vibrancy of our youth be effectively channelled to decrease the rate of school dropout? We take a look at five lessons from youth led-strategies past and present.

OPINION: A reflection on boys’ disengagement from school

After more than a decade of working with schoolboys, I’ve learnt that mutual trust lies at the heart of whether boys stay in, and are enabled to succeed at, school. Between 2008 and 2017, I served as CEO of Community Keepers, a non-profit organisation offering therapeutic counselling and psychosocial support in 29 schools across Cape Town. Boys could report to our offices themselves, or be referred by teachers or parents. It became apparent that the young boys walking into our therapy rooms simply did not trust adults because of their past experiences.

This is how champion teachers are helping learners return to school in 2022

Tefo Gaebetse and Frederick Ocansey — Champion Teachers in the Yethu network in the Northern Cape have prevented not one but four learners from dropping out of school since starting their Yethu Club in 2021. Yethu is guided by the principle that ‘zero dropout can be achieved if we act together’. Gaebetse and Ocansey have put […]

Champion Teachers and their 2022 resolutions: Getting the basics right

Dropout prevention has no silver bullets or a one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, preventing dropout requires that many role-players work together to create systems of support around our learners. While the burden of preventing dropout cannot fall on educators alone, they play a crucial role in preventing dropout. Their proximity to learners makes them well placed to […]

OPINION: Reimagining a schooling culture of care

Since the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, there have been renewed calls to reimagine education. In doing so, we must begin to engage with school dropout as a complex gendered phenomenon. Reimagining education requires us to shed unhelpful categories and seek new and inclusive frames, categories and ways of thinking, as we make sense of, and tackle, the country’s school dropout crisis.

Explained: The Second Chance Programme

The Zero Dropout Campaign is focused on helping learners to stay in and succeed at school. We also want to support young people who didn’t finish high school by giving them the information they need to make informed decisions about their options. Each learner’s reasons for leaving school are different and depend on their personal […]

What does the matric pass rate actually tell us about the health of South Africa’s schooling system?

The annual matric pass rate is traditionally considered a measure of the health of our schooling system. This statistic is an important indicator for the basic education sector, but it does not tell us about learners’ pathways through school from Grade 1 to matric. The matric pass rate only tells us about the percentage of […]

Everyone has the right to basic education, but administrative roadblocks are hampering access

Getting to the end of your schooling career and finishing your matric exams can be both rewarding and exciting. As things stand, the National Senior Certificate (NSC) is the only widely recognised school-level qualification in South Africa. Completing matric unlocks opportunities for further study or employment. But it’s no secret that learners in South Africa […]

Individual actions add up: Champion Teachers have the power to prevent dropout

Tefo Gaebetse and Frederick Ocansey — Champion Teachers in the Yethu network — have supported two learners to return to class after starting their Yethu Club. School dropout is a complex issue with no easy fix. There are no silver bullets to complex problems, but individuals can make a difference when empowered with the right […]

Spotting the warning signs of disengagement: Champion Teachers are attentive and responsive to learners’ needs

Zandisiwe Cetywayo — a Champion Teacher in the Yethu network — is on the lookout for the warning signs of disengaged behaviour. Economic exclusion, exposure to violence and poor nutrition are some of the challenges of growing up in poverty in South Africa. The Covid-19 pandemic has deepened the vulnerability of many learners living in […]

Toolkit on School Dropout Prevention

In this toolkit, you will find an interactive guide that can help you to better understand and address school dropout. The Zero Dropout Campaign began working with four NGO implementing partners in 2017 to pilot innovative dropout prevention and reintegration strategies in schools. The aim of the pilot was to surface learnings about best practice […]

Early Warning System (EWS) Toolkit

In this toolkit, you will find an interactive guide for using our Early Warning System Excel spreadsheet that uses a traffic light system to show which learners are at high, medium or low risk of dropping out. School dropout is a serious problem in South Africa. Fortunately, there are ways to prevent dropout if we […]

One in three pregnant girls drop out, but it doesn’t have to be this way

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has released new statistics on underage pregnancies, which shows a rise in deliveries since 2017. In Parliament this week, DBE officials announced that one in three girls between 10 and 19 years leave school after becoming pregnant.

Giving communities a voice: Yethu Clubs speak up

Siphamandla Ngwenya is rallying his community to improve school culture and reduce dropout. A child’s neighbourhood can significantly impact their school experience. In South Africa, it’s not unheard of that children would skip school because of crime, gangsterism or street protests in their neighbourhoods. Connecting with supportive community members can help build a sense of […]

Brochure: Data Tells a Story

In this brochure, we explain why collecting learner-level data is important in the prevention of dropout. We need to collect detailed and accurate information about our learners that can inform a more attentive and effective education system in which every learner is supported to finish matric. Collecting learner-level data would allow schools to incorporate Early […]

Brochure: Shaping a New South African Story

In this brochure, we explain how school dropout affects everyone, not just the individual learners and their families. Leaving school without a matric qualification cuts young people off from many life chances – the chance to participate, to learn, to earn, and to contribute to social and economic life. To help our learners keep a […]

OPEN LETTER: Civil society calls on Department of Basic Education (DBE) to coordinate an urgent and sustained dropout prevention plan

Covid-19 school closures coupled with the economic shocks of the pandemic have exacerbated a dropout crisis long in the making. Now, more than ever, we need a coordinated national dropout prevention plan and an accelerated learning strategy attuned to the diverse needs of learners, particularly for literacy and numeracy.