Helping Kids stay in school

The Zero Dropout Campaign seeks to raise awareness and solve the problems which lead to pupils dropping out of school, and plans to halve the dropout rate by 2030, writes Msindisi Fengu.

Simphiwe John* was skipping classes and frequently absent from school because he found it difficult to adjust to English.

John (14) had moved from Lower Mthombe, a village in King William’s Town, to East London in the Eastern Cape to be closer to this father.

He used to attend a rural school where the medium of instruction was mainly isiXhosa, and English was predominantly spoken at his new school. He struggled both academically and socially as he had yet to make any new friends.

John is among hundreds of pupils who have been saved from dropping out because of the Zero Dropout Campaign, which is about implementing interventions to change the perception that dropping out is a normal occurrence and seeks to ensure that pupils complete Grade 12.

Read the full story in the City Press