Higher Education South Africa (HESA) - Research Paper Example

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION Higher Education South Africa (HESA), South Africa’s government department in-charge of overseeing the development and management of higher education released a data showing that there are around 500,000 full time students enrolled in universities, comprehensive universities and universities of technology. There is an additional 125,000 students enrolled in Further Education and Training Colleges (FET). That number is a good sign relative to the 2001 statistics that showed a 35% increase from a figure of 401,000 in 2001 to 541,000 in 2009. The Department of Education (DoE) wants to reach the 1 million mark by 2015. If that goal is to ever be achieved, grassroots works need to be done to stop the 500,000 students that leave the final year of schooling. That 500,000 drop outs isn’t only costing the government budget, they are also clipping the country’s potential for progress because between 50 to 60 percent of those 500,000 drop outs are qualified for university exemption. To achieve this goal, the DoE restructured the system to include an Adult Matric. This is a special title to capture the ones that didn’t make it in the final year (Docherty). That is just one of the policies being institutionalized by the government to provide an alternative to students who have problems accessing or completing higher education. However, there is still question on whether such moves would answer the growing demand of the economy. As the government continues to pursue progress, progress is laying out its demands for a labour force that is both willing and able to do the work which includes skill and knowledge in the Sciences, Engineering, Mathematics, Nursing, Health Care and Medicine. For once, demand is there, what the country lacks is the supply. Government show signs of making reforms necessary to deal with it but there are other drivers that must contribute. The government is just a piece of the pie.   1.1    Purpose of the Study The world is witnessing a unique time in South Africa’s history. Their independence is young and like any child, they are still struggling to learn to walk, talk, and discover the limits of their abilities. Unlike other children, though, they have no parent to guide them and are forced to learn and educate themselves in a system that they themselves will produce. It has never lacked courage and spirit to push on and transition from being a marred and beaten country to a newly industrialized nation that influences international trade and economy. The purpose of this is study is to examine what is perhaps the most essential part in that process, education particularly the access of those who are most disadvantaged, the students from rural areas. It will look into the different factors that affect how students are able to or hinder their access to higher education. There are many efforts that go to providing student with primary education and although that is important in building a student’s character, investors, businesses and employment look into higher education in determining whether a person is fit for the job. 1.2    Context of the Study (SOUTH AFRICAN EDUCATION HISTORY) No amount of current statistics may be understood in isolation. In fact, almost everything about South Africa must be analysed as a part of larger historical picture. A history marked by centuries of white settler occupation, colonization, domination, hegemony, institutionalized racial segregation and entrenched marginalization of blacks (Letseka & Maile 2008). All these contribute to the development of education. South Africa’s history is like an enduring soap opera, a theater on which the rest of the world find echoes of its struggles (Johnson, 2004). First there was a struggle against poverty, and then identity, and then independence and then the struggle against its own legacy of discrimination and social segregation manifested through discriminatory laws and social practices. It is not shocking to meet teachers who began teaching in a racially prescribed setting (Mattson & Harley, 2002). This means they were not allowed to teach whites and teach certain subjects. The Native Land Act of 1913, the Native Affairs Act of 1920, and the Native Urban 464 Moloi Areas Act of 1923 required Black Africans to live in designated areas while the Whites were allowed to live anywhere they please. (Johnson, 2004). Many view these three legislations as the foundation of white supremacy. Although it dealt primarily with land planning, its effects spilled over to employment, education infrastructure, and even personal struggles. For example, many black South Africans still consider themselves minorities and will always relate strongly to those who belong to the same geographical areas as they do (Johnson 2004). This identity or self-image strongly influences their attitudes to teaching and leadership within schools (Soudien, 2002). Clearly, the past left this generation a fractured social and educational system. When it entered social and economic reform in 1994, the government went on a policy making spree to create a healthier educational system. This can be divided into three phases.   Phase 1 (1990 – 1994) The first phase was a time of symbolic declaration of the desire to change the education system. The National Party expressed desire to open the higher education policy process beyond the apartheid state. It was a clear declaration that they wanted to break from the past but no concrete steps were taken. Leaders were more concerned on working on principles, values, visions and goals, unconstrained by issues of planning, resources and implementation. Expectedly so, much of the attention went to quelling mass movement and civil society and clearing the government’s role in higher education transformation. The outcome of this debates and discussion was a general agreement on the values and principles. Phase 2 (1994-1998) The second phase was all about framework development. In other words, it was all about coming up with a more detailed document that would expound the visions, principles and objectives they set forth in the first phase. They came up with a White Paper and the Higher Education Act that was to design and educational system that would answer the economic demands. They came up with a defined policy and legislations such as the the moving out of Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP). This was a big part of the oppression and discrimination against blacks. The new government redesigned processes and programs that would level the playing field. That program failed to set up the ground work for a more equal distribution of aid and opportunities to different students. The efforts of reform included the setting up of Macro-economic Strategy for Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR). This also meant that more money and assistance was to be shifted to education than ever before. But things were not yet being acted. As late as 1993, the government were still giving more funding to schools that used to be designated “white schools” and schools in rural areas, where most black students are, are still getting very little funding R4 504 for white students. On the other hand, Indian students were only given R3 625 and R1 532 for black students (HSRC 2008). Phase 3 (1999 to Present) Policies are finally turning into implementation and it was all about how the country would be able to provide the new businesses that were coming in with demands of highly skilled workforce and economic development. Council of Higher Education (CHE) in their 2004 report said that during this time the Ministry of Education opted to come up with policies that that is skewed towards development (Section 2.2.1), be consistent with the restructuring of other connected government institutions (Section 3.2.1); and in full considerations with internal restructuring of the different agencies directly in-charged of education (Section 11.3.2.2). There was also the strong emphasis on the importance of the active participation of private individuals and the freedom of different organizations to stir the direction via their own directives (Section 10.4). The system continue to be re-examined and the government continues to express desire to support any changes that may be necessary to respond to the economic demands but willingness is different from responsiveness. Black student from rural areas started making their way towards urban schools that used to be only attended by whites. The problem is, more black students are trapped in the rural towns because poverty. They came from families with parents that are also uneducated. Two things usually happen, either the parents did not develop the appreciation for the value of education or don’t have the means to send their children to better universities in urban areas. The bottomline is that children are the ones suffering. Even when they successfully complete high school, they are still unable to pursue higher education because of poverty or the quality of education they got from their rural school does not pass the standard of a university. 1.3    Problem Statement 1.3.1 Main Problem (ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION) In 2005, the DoE reported that of the 120 000 dropped out of college in 2000. There are also 36 000 who quit in their freshman year and 24 000 is the total for sophomore and junior years. Of those who managed to get to their last year of college only 22% made it through to get a degree (HSRC 2008). Meanwhile, that nation continues to pursue industrialization. South Africa Info (2008) reported that South Africa recorded one of the longest streak in GDP improvement which was only disturbed by the economic crash. GDP rose in this pattern: 2002 = 2.7% 2002 = 3.7% 2003 = 3.1% 2004 = 4.9% 2005 = 5% 2006 = 5.4% 2005 =.1% 2008 = 3.1% This increased the job demand, unfortunately, South Africa couldn’t respond. The magazine Economist (2007) reported that almost 850,000 skilled youth, that are mostly white, sought better opportunities abroad. Centuries of discrimination against the black South Africans has heavily favoured the Whites in terms of their skill and educational development. With almost one million of their population leaving to work in other countries crippled the labour market of Africa. to around 4.3m people from more than 5m a decade ago. ABSA estimates that most, if not all, the young people who are leaving are also the employable ones with age ranging from 20 and 40. Even black young people who are educated are leaving. The country is already experiencing shortage of medical, engineering and other skilled professionals and it is being compounded by the exodus of these skilled youth. This also spells bad news for the National Treasury who spends R4.5 billion in grants and subsidies to higher education institutions (HSRC 2008). This means that they are not getting their investments back. If South Africa is to make its transition from an agricultural country to an industrial one, it needs to supply what the economy is demanding, a highly skilled labour force and that is something Africans will only get from Higher Education that meets international standards. It is not enough to continue pumping support towards universities in the urban areas. The government needs to go crawl to the rural areas where majority of the black community is situated. Poverty inhibits these families from sending their children to the city to study. It would be more feasible for the government to bring higher education to the rural areas. However, that is not as simple as it may sound either. A student needs to be prepared from primary years to secondary years in order to meet the strict standards of higher education. That is another issue we will discuss later on. 1.3.2 Sub-Problems Aside from poverty, there are other causes of South African students’ inability to access education. These are long standing social and political issues. Schmidst (2006) points to numerous other problems facing schools in South Africa including emotional issues. Most parents have never even imagined the concept of not living with their children for long periods of time even if it means education. Most parents would want to move to the urban areas with their children but their lack of skill and education makes it hard for them to find work and the highly advanced culture makes it hard for them to adjust. Poverty also follows malnutrition. Most students are only able to afford junk food or no food at all. It affects their physical, emotional and intellectual development. They are often sick and are unable to attend school. When they manage to get to school, they don’t have the right intellectual quotient to process and analyse the lessons. HIV is another well-known problem in Africa. Until recently, South Africa youth has been ignorant about the dangers of unprotected sex. The government launched Takalani Sesame, the first HIV positive puppet, in an effort to mass educate students about the dangers of HIV but the campaign didn’t reach the rural areas where most young sexually active teenagers are. Takalani only reached the urban youth who already get education about the risks of HIV from their parents who are also educated or from their schools. There is also the issue of undertrained teachers in rural schools. Until the social revolution, black teachers only got low-quality education and they were also segregated from white students when they were studying. When they managed to graduate and teach, they were only allowed to teach in designated black schools. They teach what they know and that wasn’t worth much. 1.4 Significance of the Study Jansen and Taylor (2003) determined that the new South African state has had some success with their current educational reforms including the putting up DoE to govern the 19 racially, ethnically, and regionally divided institutions that was in-charged of education, opening up every school to both blacks and whites and launch a policy that would require the school to review student application based on the performance of the students instead of the color of their skin, neighbourhood where they came from or gender and new programs to capture students that want to continue studying beyond their secondary level via the 50 Further Education and Training Colleges (FETs), incorporation of some colleges technical schools to universities. In fact, this led to the highest enrolment rate across all stages of education in South Africa’s history. This should be enough to inspire more reforms from the government and support from the private sector to further boost their educational system. This efforts need to continue and it has to continue going down the right path. This study will help policy makers and concerned government agencies to launch projects, programs and policies that would correctly address the factors that continue to result to poor access to higher education. As the government continue to redistribute funds towards those parts of the system disadvantaged by apartheid, this study will guide the redistribution towards school nutrition schemes and transport subsidies and others. There are also factors that go beyond political. Majority of the students today were borne of parents who lived in the society dominated by discrimination and inequality. Many of the parents of black poor kids who are forced out of school were also forced out of school. Thus, these parents never fully understood the value of education nor felt its benefits. Such a state of thinking can be transferred to the child. Reiss (1993) studied different cases on children who had parents that experienced violence which resulted to either death, imprisonment, or estrangement. Every child in the study suffered depression with some more evident than other, violent behaviour towards others who tease them about their parents, disillusioned view of the society, lack of trust in any government institution including education, and wish to be dead or end up just as bad as their parents. If parents can exercise such power over their children, absent or present, there might be a need to extend the educational reforms to parents. Policies and institutions only provide children with opportunity but parents provide their children the motivation. If used right, the findings of this research will help South Africa’s higher education and a nation with strong Higher education program lends itself to progress. Highly skilled graduates can have better employment opportunities with higher pay which also equals higher tax revenues for governments. Education will also give the person the knowledge and enough sense to save and invest the earnings. It also translates to higher consumption of goods that further stimulates the economy. As Higher education improves the quality of life which spirals down to the next generation and laterally to other members of the family. The more direct effect is, of course, the ability of highly educated people to be more aware of new technologies and more likely to develop them. South Africa has expressed intentions of getting into the science and technology market which involves development of new technologies in communication and medical research. If they have the understanding of this concept, it will also inspire them to create development products that they can market internationally. This can encourage entrepreneurship that generates more jobs. The economic direction of South Africa seems to be headed towards technical and service-oriented businesses. This is very similar to India who dominates the outsourcing industry to this day. However, such a direction would require a strong labour market, one that can compete with international counterparts. 1.5 Delimitations of the Study Although meant to represent the general trend, the respondents are limited to ________. All respondents are High School graduates that were unable to pursue higher education or went to some college but dropped out. The study will also not delve into the details of every educational reform in South Africa. Instead, only the major turning points will be discussed. 1.6 Definition of Terms (Rural, Youth, Higher education) Apartheid. A social and political concept of racial discrimination that was the social norm in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. Higher Education. Higher Education refers to any form of study after high school. Government. It pertains to any department, agency or institutions that is under the direct payroll of the national and local government. Poverty. Poverty is a debatable concept but for the purpose of this study, determination of someone’s poverty depends on the person’s ability to provide for his most basic needs like food and education. Youth. Youth is anyone that is seven years old and 25. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Introduction Under the leadership of the first minister of education Professor Sibusiso Bengu, Africa produced policies, laws, and regulations that governed education in the post-apartheid South Africa. If that is any indication on how serious South Africa is when it comes to reforming their education to aid their economic revolution, they have proven their point well. It slowed down with the second minister Professor Kader Asmal but he spent a lot of time reviewing previous policy and its adaptability to current conditions (Jansen 2001:41-57; DoE and Department of Labor 2002:131). As expected, many of the policies weren’t yet being implemented and the ones that were implemented didn’t produce the kind of educational achievements the country was hoping for because the country was still haunted by the ghosts of their past, the hardship of their present, and scary possibilities of their future. However, the educational system needs to be re-examined and re-analysed so that a more comprehensive program and policy that would be adaptable to the present situation and anticipate future conditions. 2.2. Definition of Topic or Background Discussion South Africa is proud of its 90% primary education enrolment rate but behind it is a host of unexposed problems. While South Africa rightly claims very high participation rates in primary school education such as the inferior quality of education especially on rural areas which means that even when children are going to school, they don’t get the quality of education that they need to be a competitive candidate towards higher education. The victims are, of course, students who fail to get access to the education they deserve. National and provincial tests, such as the Grade 4 and 6 numeracy and literacy tests in the Western Cape, demonstrates the poor quality of education the students are getting. We also continue to lose on International Mathematics and Science Studies over the past decade, the same decade when South Africa is supposed to be making some great educational reform. The lack of quality in education and facilities also demotivates the student that leads to a high drop-out rate. This has a corresponding social effect as teenagers drop into the street life that causes the continuous increase in crime rate. With lack of education and lack of work opportunities, they are lured by gangs. They start with petty crimes and escalates to more dangerous acts which lands them in jail or ends their life. It brings to light the prevailing culture of social cohesion (Friedkin, 2004), a concept of a social bind where people with the same experience, usually painful or sad, bind together. Surprisingly, the oppression brings about a predatory culture among the youth which could collapse soon if it hasn’t started already. Not that this is a new concept. As far back as 1990s, the concept of South Africa’s lost generation emerged (Hawthorne & McLeod, 1990). This is the generation who was born and grew up in an oppressed society with no other goal but to be free. When the freedom was handed to them, they realized they had no tools to deal with the freedom. It led this young people to confusion with a clear threat that if the government doesn’t do anything to help them, they would move the country to terror. There was a failure to act then and they are proving true to their threats then. South Africa’s education system and social condition do not nurture children towards higher education. Whether taken from the point of view of self-interest or sincere concern towards the value of youth of South Africa, there is a need to examine the conditions and come up with solutions. This paper does not intend come up with a proposal with a detailed recommendation on the future direction of educational reforms. However, it will examine the prevailing internal and external causes of that push students away from higher education. 2.3. First Sub-Problem Discussion - (socio-economic CHALLENGE) 2.3.1 Poverty and Inequality South Africa is still considered a middle-income country with a GDP of R1,0992 billion in 2000/01 and a population of 43.3 million. In 2002, the country’s GDP stood at US$97.8 billion with GDP per capita of US$2,167, real GDP growth of 2.4 percent, with inflation at 7.1 percent, and unemployment at 23 percent. The population is roughly 78 percent black, 10 percent white, 9 percent colored, and less than 3 percent Indian (National Treasury 2003). When social and political changes began in 1994, the new government were handed down one of the most divided societies this world has ever known both in social class and race. In fact, the poorest 40 percent of the population earned only 11 percent of income and the wealthiest 10 percent earned 40 percent (National Treasury 2001). The imbalance is evident even in their politics. One of the nine provinces, Gauteng contributes 41.6 percent of the country’s GDP—despite the fact that it has only 18 percent of the population. More than half the country lives below the poverty line and almost none of them are whites while almost 60 percent of the black communities are poor. This resulted to a country that could be classified both rich and poor, a developed society and economy that is dominated by whites and the other half is dominated by black that enjoy nothing more than basic services, privileges and infrastructure. Children that are between seven and 15 years old get free education depending on the income of their parents. Yet, many of them are still unable to pursue education (Higgens, 2007). The HSRC in South Africa reported that only 87 percent of students who enter primary level go on to secondary level. Of this, only 20 percent will go on to pursue higher education. This is a result of the 12 million children still living below the poverty level (Ramdas & Kruger). Four million of these children don’t have regular food and have grave nutrition problems. A total of 40% don’t reach their full height potential and 81% don’t even get basic needs like shelter and clothes on their back. Many of them live in settlements and it is also not rare to know of children whose parents or siblings don’t work, 50% to be exact. There are others in worse situations, they grew up without either of their parents, 24% of them (Eddy & Holborn 2011). This resulted to the widening gap between the rich and poor. UN Integrated Regional Information Networks reported that the gap jumped from 6.7% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 1996 to 8.3% by 2001. The rich are the ones enjoying the benefits of the efforts of the government to industrialised the country while the poor are getting poor. HSRC have used the Gini coefficient to get a mathematical equivalent of this disparity. Zero would indicate a balanced distribution of income while one be countries whose social gap is wide. South Africa came very close to one. It was 0.69 in 1996. By 2001, it went to the top of the world ranking with a rating of 0.77. Rural areas feel this problem more than the urban areas, of course. Rural universities don’t even have decent teachers, let alone decent labs, books and classroom. Most students from the rural areas who graduate from Grade 12, take matriculation exemption. This is the test that would determine if they qualify to get into a university. The matriculation exemption passing mark is high but only because many universities waive the test just as so they could get more students and get higher subsidy from the government. The cost is university drop outs. The FET is also credited by some as a compromise of higher education standards. This is a system that recognizes even those who only completed nine years of school. To some, this may be a taken as a blatant admission that the government has no capacity to support the students all the way through higher education. These FET Colleges offer vocational and training courses as an alternative. It is often regarded as a second class option. The fact that these colleges maintain old facilities, lack other kinds of infrastructure and skilled staff only help other into thinking the graduates are as bad as the facilities. South Africa’s failure to provide students with poor elementary and high school education also spoil their chances of having higher education. The option is to take low paying jobs if they someone could spare them or prowl the streets and live a life of crime. There are also those who resort to low level, questionable and even fake colleges that offer diplomas or certificates that end not being acknowledged in any institution. Many of these have been closed down but “online universities” are fast taking its place. Even though student may learn some basic or low level skill, they will have no place to use it as the economy continuously demands the highly skilled ones. They are, then, forced to unemployment or get into jobs that would normally belong to those who didn’t graduate from grade 12 like fast food chains. There are efforts to provide for the poor. By 1999, The Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP) of the earlier years of transition (1994-1999) put up more than 1.2 million low-cost houses and provided water to four million people. These early successes are by no means a sign that South Africa is where they ought to be. A lot of work still needs to be done. Allowing higher education access is different from providing access. The first is a passive act, the latter is the active act which the government must provide and it cannot be limited to policies and construction of schools. HSRC’s survey showed that 70% of the families with children that dropped out of schools are poor and most of them are black families. There are a lot of parents who earn less than R1 600 a month and are forced to find ways on how to fit the R1 600 to their whole family. With the children fully dependent on their families support, education often takes a backseat. They can get supplement from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme of South Africa (NSFAS) but that is all they can get, a supplement. The agency is neither mandated nor capable financially of sending all poor students to finish their education. Many of the ones who drop out said they are forced to work just as so they could sustain their daily needs (HSRC 2008). 2.3.2 Home Influence Students from the rural areas are highly influenced by home background variables, including parental education. Parents who don’t know the value of education or who has not enjoyed its benefits may not be as supportive to their children’s education. That makes it almost impossible to separate how much of a student’s inability to access higher education is influenced by their parent’s lack of interest on it and their financial incapacity. Education has a direct effect on the child’s quality of regardless of their gender, age, or social class (UNESCO EFA, 2004, p. 48) also known as the socio-economic gradient (Willms, 2006). Havement and Wolfe (1995) presented evidences that where people get their motivation is just as important as the tools given to them to pursue their dreams. A big part of that motivation is their parents background. Parents form a childs concept of life, happiness, and dreams. That is why parents who are educated have higher chances of bringing up a child with premium importance on education. Akerlof and Kranton (2001) discussed that children look at education the way they would look at all the other products they buy for themselves like food and clothes. It is influenced by, first the budget and then, their idea of what is good. A childs early influence on food and clothes are the parents. This direct correlation was affirmed by Sadoulet, Finan & Janvry (2002). Using both quantitative and qualitative method, they were able to relate how a family member’s job is most probably equivalent to the child’s choice of career, or the lack of it. This is the primary reason many schools, even those that are privately owned and especially those in the U.S., involve parents and other family members in the education of the student. They go to as far as counselling the parents just as much as they would counsel their student, or even more. This is in recognition of the role that parents play in the education of their child. Even when parents have the best of intention, parents are still recommended to be counselled by schools because some of them simply lack the knowledge on how to motivate their children and how the smallest of their action can affect how their children perceive education (Grusec, 2006) Blackwell and McLaughlin (1993) conducted a study to determine why the education attainment gap between the rural and urban communities is widening. The findings clearly showed that South Africa may need to re-examine their policies in education reform to include the parents of children that are now in school. As per the study, families give more than just financial support or the permission to study but also, and perhaps more importantly, the emotional support. About a quarter of young boys from the rural areas attested to having at least one parent discourage them from pursuing higher education. This is telling of the continued short-term thinking of parents living in the rural areas. Their priority remains to be to make a living with with low level jobs. They need their sons to help them with work or stay at home to take care of younger siblings while they work. No government policies can ever compete with the influence of the parent. 2.3.3 Persistence of Racism The Waterkloof Four, a snappy nickname dubbed by the media on four students who kicked a black man to death in the Waterkloof because of the colour of skin (Corcoran, 2007). There is Johan Nel, opened fire on some houses located outside of Swartruggens killing several people. He was 18 when he did this hideous crime (Daily Mail 2008). The “Reitz Four”, another nickname by the media after the university hall residence, humiliated five black employees of Free State University in Bloemfontein. Four students used threats on four middle-aged women and one man to drink full bottles of alcohol and humiliating and physical tasks that were obviously beyond their physical capacity or health. The students video taped the whole event (Smith, 2010). Sad as it may seem, persistence of racism is to be expected (but never tolerated) because of social liberation is fairly young. All of these people involved in this act of racism add to the students from rural areas to pursue higher education in urban areas where facilities are better and teachers are more skilled. Not all white young men share the same view but the influence of the older generation who lived in an era where racism was an accepted social norm continues to pass on their values to their young and that trend will continue as undesirable as it may seem. Even in the songs of youth, these sentiments are reflected. Nie Langer (No Longer) by the rock band Klopjag is of a young white who said they will no longer apologize for any of the things that the older whites did. This anger is causing a reaction on the young rural blacks who are just as angry for the seeming apathy of those who don’t hurt them and continued discrimination by those who have not recognized their equality. The ANC Youth League Congress (YLC) of 2008 was a telling event challenges and progression that South Africa experienced. Nelson Mandela and many other leaders that fought discrimination came from YLC. Now it is dominated by young leaders who are so sick of poverty, they are resorting to corruption just to get out of it and questionable political stance like their support for Jacob Zuma. The government has been exerting effort to make things better for the youth in terms of education, health, access to basic services, policies and opportunities. Scholarships have been set up, private help is being welcomed and even called upon but the funding can’t do anything to push higher education if the quality of education in the primary and secondary level is still low. Improving those too would, again, bring us all back into the history of racism that has marred this country. The Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETA) has also been set up to get students who are unable to get into universities but it has resulted to nothing but failures that gains corrupt officials money and the students with nothing. 2.4. Second Sub-Problem History Matters (2008), a research website, reported that it is not uncommon on university campuses for many of the students to die every year. HIV fully develops to become age when students get infected in their early teens. It does so even earlier when a child is born with HIV. When people who get support from their government so they could pursue higher education or get skills that will allow them to join the workforce die, nothing is brought back to the country. All potentials die with it. HIV Aids is also taking teachers down with it. Many teachers get infected because they also belong to the generation who didn’t get any education about the necessity of safe sex and dangers of HIV/AIDS. This regresses the investment on humans and it an investment necessary for any country to progress. There is no question that health problems, particularly, HIV/AIDS is one of the scariest threats to education and economic reform in Southern Africa (Bennell, Hyde, and Swainson 2002). Right now, 11 percent of South Africans are HIV-positive. This statistics cover all social classes. A scarier number is the 15.2 percent that comes from 15 to 49 (HSRC, 2002), the age group that is supposed to be most productive and holds the greatest power to influence the next generation and change the course of their destiny. The agony doesn’t end there, the infection on children between 2 and 14 (HSRC 2002) is climbing which means the children were born with the virus or are being abused at a young age by other people who have AIDS. Provinces discovered to harbour the highest HIV incidence among children are KwaZulu Natal, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga with 33.5 percent, 29.2 percent, and 29.2 percent respectively. Death and dropping out of students lay the groundwork being done in policies and implementation to naught. It corrodes contribution improvements that resulted from all the efforts made by the government and private sectors to open the doors to more students from rural areas to access primary, secondary, and tertiary education. It dissipates equity gains embedded in post-apartheid policy, since mainly black and female from rural areas are infected and leave the education system prematurely. What is worse is that there is little credible collection of AIDS data which causes the ambiguity around the nature and extent of the crisis. Badcock-Walters (2003) discussed that the effects of HIV/AIDS on education reform is most evident on studies that are being done on the local level. These are usually smalls scale and cover very specific purpose, usually academic. There is one study that is limited to the KwaZulu Natal province. It showed that AIDS affect even the teachers with a full seven percent of teachers leaving either because of their declining health due to AIDS or death. AIDS also take away students at a very early age, as early as the first grade. In this study, Grade 1 enrolment went down from 12 percent in 1999 and 24 percent in 2000. A total of five percent among people involved in the education industry also falls victim to AIDS. Again, the data will most likely be unacceptable to many institutions because of the highly focused nature of the research, some inconsistencies in the number, and also for the fact that it lacked repetitive processes that would allow for comparative study. However, it clearly shows the numbers. Students and teachers are falling victim to a diseases that is supposed to be avoidable, if not treatable. South African government has never denied the urgency crisis and has formed policies and plans to elevate AIDS Program to their priority. They subsequently implemented AIDS education on schools, they also created a program to monitor and support orphans and other children in schools through a children’s television program—Takalane Sesame—for young children, featuring a muppet born with HIV and orphaned by AIDS. The effects of the programs was never measured but it inspired some high profile debates on the nature, extent, and even the causes of HIV/AIDS and it only added to the confusion of youth. There is also a lack of consistent, powerful and single message about the disease (Hawthorne 2002). The debate and lack of funding also fragmented the efforts of the government which didn’t help in allowing the youth to retain the messages being said. The efforts never went mainstream which could have been the only way youth in rural areas would have heard of it. 2.5. Third Sub-Problem (lack of information and access CHALLENGE) There are very few, if not none at all, countries who have gone through so much educational policy change than South Africa in the last two decades. This is compounded by the fact that it was the political and social change that brought these educational reforms to fruition. There are policies, institutions, processes, laws, and private help that are coming in. the problems is that these new opportunities or even intention is not being cascaded down to the poor people in rural areas. They have no way of knowing that there are opportunities they can utilize to in order to move forward with their education. Most government reforms are usually announced in television, newspapers and radio stations. Armstrong and Collins (2004) reported that approximately 7 million of the 12 726 000 households projected by the Bureau of Market Research (2007) own a TV set. Most of this are urban dwellers. These students don’t have enough money to buy their food, let alone buy a newspaper to read about government educational reforms and other opportunities. The only way for students to be aware of the opportunities being given to them is through their schools which are also filled with teachers with not enough training.   The lack of access to information to higher education also translates to the lack of physical access to education James (2001) determined youth from rural areas the most underrepresented in higher education, almost a quarter of them dont pursue higher education. Considering this study was done on a first world country like Australia, the situation in a third world country like South Africa is even worse and discouraging for students. Frenete (2004) conducted the same study in Canada and determine that students with difficulty in accessing colleges and universities have only 58 percent of attending higher education. He, however, goes a step further by saying that even government financial assistance wont help much on both ends of the rope. For one, it wont be worth the "investment" on the government side because very few students would benefit from the program. There would be many who wouldnt want to pursue higher education because they dont see the value and benefit, some "cant" because their families need them to start working to help in the family income, and others who wont be academically qualified. This would bring us to point number two. It is more practical to provide financial assistance instead of physically making it possible for students to attend a university. Lack of physical access combined with poverty form the strongest inhibitor of children from pursuing higher education (James, Wyn, Baldwin, Hepworth, McInnis, & Stephanou (1999). 2.6. Fourth Sub-Problem Lack of Personal Aspiration There are some factors that are simply hard to measure such as the basic objective of trying to improve the quality of life of young South Africans because quality of life involves more than just getting monthly pay in a regular job. One’s dreams and social formation is a shared experience influenced by the society that helps in the formation of principles and goals that will dictate the direction by which one would want to stir his life into. The child learns quality of life when it is experienced in their everyday life. This is something they can and will carry up until they graduate. When schools don’t have enough books, don’t have computers or teachers that would know how to operate a computer, it is almost impossible for an efficient and effective quality education to be experienced by the students. They wouldn’t know what else is out there for them to discover. They don’t see the horizon, thus, wouldn’t know how far they can go. Tertiary education, in that regard, is something the government has to set up from the very first year. Right now, there seems to a sea that separates the secondary and tertiary education and that gap is the supposed to build the personal aspirations of students and teach them how to dream. The University of Johannesburg is trying to solve this problem by setting up programs that would transition the students (Ramdass, K. & Kruger). The intent is to supplement the current low quality education that student in rural areas are getting to prepare them from a higher level of education in universities in urban areas that used to be exclusive to whites. Veerle Dieltiens and Sarah Meny-Gibert (2008) presented an analysis on how poverty as a barrier to higher education especially among rural dwellers actually go beyond the finances. Amartya Sens (1999) argued resources aren’t enough to take the students to higher education. Quality must also be worked on. From primary years, they need to be taught that there is something more than what rural education and rural life offers them. They need to aspire and dream. Sens capability approach theorizes that people must know what quality life is for them to want it and work for it. Sen said that "the substantive freedom of people to lead the lives [give them] reason to value and enhance the real choices they have".  Equality and enough resources are still not enough to get an assurance that a student will get into and finish higher education.   Sen highlighted two main points: that quality of education and access are intertwined and inevitably a requirement for each other.  For education access to be utilized, it needs to go beyond physical aspect and into the psyche of the students. It should include the ability to share, interact, affect, and pull other up and towards a meaningful future. In other words, Sen demonstrated that education is geared towards one thing and almost one thing only, that each citizen be able to live a decent life. Next, students need to understand that education has a meaning, that it actually stands for something and will help them get from one point to the next. Freedom is not enough, freedom is a tool and so is education. It is not an end goal and students need to understand that students need to strive for something, a career, a house, a car, and their way to get that is via education. That is why children who don’t get the kind of education forms this kind of thinking don’t only destroy their childhood but his whole life. Childhood is the root of everything and will serve as the engine that will carry the child from one kind of life to the other. Labour market must be seen from the perspective of higher education and higher education must be seen from the perspective of primary and secondary education. Right now, prospects are not looking good. Many students in the primary and secondary levels are unable to relate what they learn in school to practical life or even realize the value of lessons in school. International and national benchmark tests, such as TIMMS and SACMEQ show that South African students are not proficient in Science and Math. Even by DoEs own measure grade 3 to grade 6 students don’t seems to know what they are supposed to know at that grade level. The DoE (2005) report showed that Grade 6 tests averaged 38% in Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT). None of the subjects passed the 50% mark which shows that not 50% of the students in Africa know the basics of what they are supposed to know in their grade bracket. Mathematics got a dismal 27% and 41% in Natural Sciences (HSRC 2008). They are also not proficient in English as essay questions were poorly answered, simple sentences can’t be constructed properly and the only subject they scored high is Science because of the multiply choice nature. Expectedly, the world students come from rural areas, from the poorest town, from the poorest schools. 2.5. Conclusion There are two critical elements on the nature of higher education among rural dwellers that must be advanced. One is policy does not equal implementation. Just because people are given permission to pursue higher education does not mean they will because not everyone has the financial, social, or health capability. The primary and most telling reason remains to be economics. History has pushed the blacks to the rural areas where life is hard and options are few. Priority has always been to earn money even if it meant pushing children to work. Addressing higher education, therefore, means the government must address poverty. Next, higher education starts in the primary years of a student. Primary and secondary schools must provide the foundation that will prepare the students for higher education. Given that most rural dwellers are poor, the government must work with the people to provide quality education for the common good. This would mean that the government may have to give the schools supported by private corporations some autonomy to operate effectively, a move worth trying considering the probable gains. There should only be clear accountability in terms outputs and cultural standards Schools need to serve students precisely at a point where it becomes the connection between the present and the aspirations, between what is here and now to what is possible. Trish Gibbons characterises the features of a South African comprehensive university as: A diverse school that nurtures different race and language and bind everyone together to share and exchange knowledge and skills Open and accessible to different races and via different means Mobile in developing different opportunities and different areas of growths Responsive to the changing times and trends Flexible in developing partnership with different external parties that would help boost the quality of education CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY. This research used both qualitative for substantiations and insights and quantitative methodology for trends because the most important aspect of the research is be able to pull together the different data from different sources to create a comprehensive understanding of the causes of the problems. Most, if not all, of thee causes have been talked about but issues are always isolated that deny us the comprehensive understand of the whole social scenario. Chadwich et al (1984) stated that methodologies used in a social research should be able affirm and support conclusions as a result of solving the research problem. This research, in order to get that, used qualitative insights to verify quantitative data. Sources of data obtained are established and acknowledged research agencies while insights are from those who have enough educational attainments and have established a good reputation in the field of policy making, research or education. The literature review established the connection between the theoretical material available on South Africa’s economic state, social disparity, and current educational condition. It helps to encompass the understanding of issues, support conclusions, and be free of the influences of any reading or insights of other studies dealing with poverty of educational system. Qualitative methodology provided me with the opportunity to look at the overall milieu of subjects and topics instead of just focusing on one area. There was a natural need to study subjects and topics in the context of the present and context of the time the subject being talked about happened. Tayler (1984) said that understanding people is not about number but should involve in-depth studies that take into consideration every element that affect ones social constructs. Filstead, (1990) discussed that qualitative develops the analytical concepts that would otherwise be questionable. On the other hand, quantitative research is anchored on specific insights anchored on very precise measures meant to understand or expound on a singular topic that influences research designs and research analysis (Mikkelsen, 1995). Questionnaire is a formal schedule for gathering specific kinds of data to answer specific questions. In this research survey questions deals mostly with issues that concern political, economic, social, and health issues they may have. It is formulated with utmost understanding that some factors may not necessarily be a conscious element in their school life. Thus, questions are formulated to stir their mind in these areas without having confuse them on how these elements play a part in their education 3.2 Population and Sample 3.2.1 Population As clearly emphasised in chapter 2, secondary education is the precursor to higher education. This is the population greatly affected by the programs that will be set up by the government to make higher education most accessible. They are also the age group that has the greatest chances of building their own path and closing the gap between education in rural areas and urban areas. With this, students in the secondary education are the population of this research. 3.2.2 Sample and Sampling Method Due to time and budgetary constraints, two secondary schools were chosen through a random sampling. This means that every secondary school actually qualified. The list was drilled down to the schools that were convenient to the researcher both in terms of geography and coordination. Given that that researcher was going to come in close contact with the students, permission from the school and the parent were obtained. After initial phone calls and coordination, only the school that responded immediately were shortlisted. 3.3 Procedure for Data Collection There are several data collection methods to be used including historical research, interviewing, and surveying. The one on one interview allows the researcher to expound on each answer and not get limited to what numbers or trends will dictate. The interview helped verify some of the insights that was obtained through the literature review. Eight students were interviewed from each of the ## schools. The students were chosen through a random method. No qualifications were imposed aside from their social class. This means that only the students that will most likely be unable to attend tertiary education are to be interviewed. 3.4 Data Analysis and Interpretation The analysis of the data requires that that data gathered from different methods must be interpreted from consistent point of views to make sure that data becomes complementary instead of contradictory. There are a lot of cross-referencing and discussion. This is usually the longest time in the process but might also be the most important (Plummer, 1983). After all, data and information are nothing but variables that don’t mean anything until properly contextualized. Researcher will watch out for patterns, themes, trends and even small events that might provide interesting insights on the behaviour of students towards higher education. References Armstrong, C. & Collins, R. (2004) Digital Dilemmas for South African TV. Centre Public Policy Research Paper 6. LINK Graduate School of Public and Development Management. 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