School Dropout: Advocacy to Action
Twenty-twenty-four happened to be a momentous year for both the Zero Dropout Campaign and democratic South Africa. As the former marks its fifth anniversary, the latter is also marking its thirtieth with what’s been deemed as the most highly contested election in its history.
The year also happened to be the year in which the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill finally passed through Parliament and on to the President for assentation. The Bill is now at least seven years in the making and its assentation would usher in the most significant changes to the regulation of the basic education sector in the last decade.
As the country and the education sector prepare for potentially drastic political and policy changes, it seems like a prime opportunity to review the current state and efficacy of dropout-related policy, as well as perceptions of dropout in South Africa. An exciting and timely method to obtain these perceptions would be through a public opinion survey, conducted by a contracted party.
This publication is also supplemented by research-informed recommendations that would inform both the Zero Dropout Campaign through its next phase and the broader education sector as it enters a new political administration.
