New data on youth inequality

ONE lives in a palatial home‚ and attends a private school that costs more than R100 000 a year.

The other lives in a shack with no electricity or running water and attends a school where the matric pass rate is below 50%.

That South Africa’s youth face highly unequal conditions and future prospects is nothing new.

But now‚ a new portal launched yesterday by the University of Cape Town‚ is giving insight into the lives of youth – and not just as they differ between stereotypes of rich and poor.

The Youth Explorer Portal is the richest mine of data on youth ever seen in this country‚ and gives stats on different aspects of health‚ education‚ employment and living conditions across all nine provinces.

By taking the “camera” of our country’s varied social landscape up closer‚ it becomes easier to see where the problems lie and what interventions are most needed where. For example‚ on average‚ about 70% of youths across the country from age 16 to 17 have completed Grade 9 or higher.

On closer inspection‚ through the portal we see that in North West Province‚ it is only 65% whereas in Gauteng it jumps up to 83%.

Therefore‚ there isn’t a one size fits all education intervention for the whole country. — TMG