School dropout figures falling, study finds

Fewer pupils are dropping out of school now compared with previous years‚ but black South Africans continue to lag behind when it comes to obtaining tertiary qualifications.

There are some of the findings contained in Statistics SA’s Education and Labour Market Outcomes in SA report.

The study compares three generations of SA adults‚ focusing on their highest educational attainment and achievements in the labour market.

Generations studied in the report were generation-X adults born between 1960 and 1979‚ who were aged 39 to 58 in 2018; millennials born between 1980 and 1999‚ who were aged 19 to 38 in 2018; and born-frees born in 1994 or later‚ who were 24 or younger in 2018.

“The largest educational gains among black Africans and coloureds were in the increase in the percentage of individuals who completed secondary schooling — from 24.1% among generation-X black Africans to 36.7% among black African millennials‚ and from 25.1% among generation X coloureds to 39.2% among coloured millennials‚” the study said.

“These three generations were shaped by important political changes in SA‚ which affected the choices they made in their educational and labourmarket participation.”

The study revealed that more Indians and/or Asians were completing school‚ with 53% of Indian/Asian millennials achieving such qualifications‚ compared with 45.9% from generation X.

However‚ inequalities by population group in the achievement of tertiary qualifications persist across generations‚ the study found.

“The percentage of black African and coloured millennials who hold a tertiary qualification was lower (11% and 9.4% respectively) compared with whites (41.3%) and Indians/Asians (28.5%).”