Finding place and keeping pace: access to schooling in South Africa.

Abstract

This article reflects on the current debates and statistics in South Africa on access to schooling. It defines access broadly to include regular attendance, progression, meaningful learning and appropriate access to postprimary education. It begins by questioning Firoz Patel, Deputy Director General: Systems Planning and Monitoring, on the challenges of access as seen by the Department of Education. Paul Kgobe then looks at what the statistics say about access to basic education. In a review of the latest research on the reasons learners fail to enrol or dropout of schools, Veerle Dieltiens finds that there is in general an established routine of going to school that is quite hard to break. Finally, Michelle Buchler provides an overview of access issues to higher education.

Citation

Wits EPU. Finding place and keeping pace: access to schooling in South Africa. Quarterly Review of Education and Training in South Africa (2006) 13 (2) 1-38.

Finding place and keeping pace: access to schooling in South Africa.

Published 1 January 2006