Chapter 10: Development of multi-disciplinary model for OVC
5.3 CHALLENGES AND RISKS FACED BY OVC
5.3.3 Challenges at school
caregiver is working away from home, the oldest child must carry the heavy responsibility of caring for smaller brothers and sisters or sometimes also frail grandparents (Lathale &
Pillay, 2013). This becomes a heavy burden on the child, who also has academic demands to meet.
5.3.2.8 Lack of care and affection
Children need care and affection, especially in their crucial development years. In Maslow’s pyramid of hierarchy of needs (Macleod, 2020), the need for care and affection comes at the third level. This shows that for a child to be a fully functioning psychological and emotional being, they must have people who care for them and are affectionate towards them. Studies have shown that OVC normally experience neglect, abandonment or abuse (Hlalele, 2015; Saraswat & Unisa, 2017; Tsheko, 2007).
The situation may deprive them of the care and affection, which they need in order to develop fully. The lack of care and affection creates attachment issues later in their lives, as already discussed. However, not all OVC suffer from a lack of care and affection. In some cases, though, there may be parents or caregivers caring for them and showing them affection, but they lack the resources to be able to provide everything that is needed.
did not understand the circumstances in which the learners live, and seemingly did not care enough to find out more about the learners’ backgrounds. These challenged learners will have books that are not covered, because they lack simple items such as book covers.
Teachers expect them to do homework, but these learners do not have the space or electricity to do the work at home. They do not have money to buy candles. Some teachers obviously do not take cognisance of the plight of OVC and instead, they compare them with other learners who have more resources.
Literature has elucidated the following challenges and risks that are experienced by OVC in schools. They face many problems in their educational environment and their actual learning or studying environment (Calis & Calis, 2015). There are children who are coming from troubled families, families at risk, child-headed homes, to name a few. Some children have experienced troubled family relationships, been exposed to bad influences/bad friends, suffer from low motivation and low self-esteem, while some are bullies or victims of bullying (Vergottini, 2019). This shows the complexity of the situation of vulnerable children.
5.3.3.1 Poor standards within the schools
Rural schools face a range of challenges that are unique to their environment, which compromise the quality of education that vulnerable children receive (Du Plessis, 2020).
In the Maleboho East Circuit, there are schools that never achieved an average of 50%
in matric pass rate over a period of ten years. One school recorded a 10% pass rate in 2018. Overall, rural schools do not have good teachers or well-qualified and motivated or committed teachers, they lack parental interests in education, and they have insufficient funds and a lack of resources that could enhance the quality of teaching (Openshaw, 2014, Du Plessis, 2020).
5.3.3.2 Lack of social supportive personnel
In these rural schools, there are no social support personnel, as indicated earlier. There are no social workers, psychologists or therapists. Teachers have to handle all children as if their experiences are the same. There is a lack of checks and balances on the part of the DBE to ensure that OVC receive psychosocial support (Hess, 2020; Kemp, 2014;
Mwoma & Pillay, 2015).
The failure of the DBE to mainstream social support services in schools placed the education of poor and vulnerable children in a detrimental position. While affluent schools manage to employ supportive qualified personnel through the funding by parents, poor schools, and especially rural schools, continue to function without any internal or external social support. This contradicts what the Education White Paper 6 advocated regarding the removal of all barriers towards education (DE, 2001; Hess, 2020). The report on the implementation of the Education White Paper highlighted that managers and teachers are not equipped to address the learners’ support needs (DBE, 2015). In that context, the policy remains non-functional and reduced to a piece of paper. This is a sad situation, as children need both emotional, psychological and social support if they are to realise their optimal educational outcomes.
The common evidence of vulnerability in schools is irregular school attendance by these learners and that they are late for school (Mboweni, 2014). OVC are consistently absent or bunk classes. Practical evidence points to the fact that they have to do a lot of chores such as bathing and preparing their smaller siblings for school or having to do a range of household chores before coming to school (Mboweni, 2014, Pillay, 2016).
In cases where their parents, siblings or caregivers are sick, they have to stay away from school, because they have to take them to the clinic. Sometimes, it is just truant behaviour as there is no adult supervision at home. Studies have found that frequent class absenteeism applies to most of them (Mwoma & Pillay, 2015; Mutiso & Mutie, 2018).
5.3.3.4 Poor educational opportunities
In schools, OVC face a myriad of challenges ranging from being teased about not having a uniform to stigma and discrimination, which inhibit their ability to perform at their best and achieve success in their education. Girls are at risk of becoming teenage mothers, while boys face the challenge of being involved in drug and alcohol abuse or drawn into gang activities (Toska, 2020, Laurenzi, Roberts, Cluver & Sherr, 2015). At home, many of the OVC must care for their elderly caregivers or their siblings (Pillay, 2016). They do not have enough time to concentrate on their academic work, which ultimately compromises their academic performance. They carry the psychosocial burden of caring for their family members, while they need to attend to their schoolwork. Practical evidence has shown that most of them end up failing their grades. Failure breaks their morale and ultimately leads them to drop out of school.
The challenges and risks that OVC face, have serious consequences and may increase the problems they will face later in life. A study conducted by Toska et al. (2015) confirmed that they are at a higher risk of impaired cognitive functioning and behavioural development in comparison with their counterparts whose circumstances are different.
Which correlates with the earlier studies conducted by Cluver et al. (2012) and Tsiliso (2011), who established that they may experience long-term negative consequences, which may include low self-esteem, low levels of life skills, learning disabilities and disturbed social behaviour, among other problems. The challenges also cause a long- term impact on the cognitive, emotional, social and psychological functioning of the individual (Ameyaw-Akumfi, 2013; Blum et al., 2013). However, the researcher holds the view that this is not gloom and doom for all the children’s future. In the notion of the SBTF, there are assets in these children’s environment that can be tapped into to promote their resilience. A study conducted by Makhonza (2018) on the promotion of resilience found that resources such as sports and recreational facilities can be protective factors.