4.5 Socio-economic challenges in the vulnerability context
4.5.5 Education and skills development
Since there are no schools within the settlement, the researcher asked participants where children attend school. They provided a range of conflicting views with regard to access to education.
Some participants linked poverty with such access, citing the lack of schools within the settlement, as they cannot afford to send their children to schools in Primrose, or use public transport to attend schools in the surrounding areas. It was further revealed that, the fee free schools7 are far away and parents cannot afford the high transport costs. In contrast, some participants appreciate sending their children to nearby former Model C schools, citing the good quality of education as the main benefit associated such schools.
While there are obviously benefits associated with sending children to former Model C schools, poor households cannot afford to do so. This demonstrates the ambiguity experienced by the
7 These are institutions that receive funding from the state and are consequently not compelled to charge school fees (Berkhout et al., 2010:53).
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majority of poor households in Makause. It is not unusual for learners to drop out of school and stay at home due to poverty. Indeed, some children leave school in order to work to contribute to the household’s income.
For instance participant # 9 had this to say: “I do not have money to take my child to school;
transport is expensive and I am not working; that’s poverty for me.”
In sharp contrast, participant # 2 said:
Both of my children attend schools in Primrose. I am taking advantage of the nearby schools.
This contradiction indicates the differences between the improving poor and the declining poor in Makause.
While government has introduced progressive educational policies and programmes such as compulsory primary education, school nutritional schemes, transport subsidies and fee free schools in order to ensure access to education, for the majority of poor households in Makause, access to education remains a distant dream. Indeed, education is a luxury, as some parents have to choose between buying food and sending their children to school. It has been noted in the literature (Bauch, 2011:13) that poverty is a social problem that reproduces itself from generation to generation. There is a strong correlation between educational attainment, poverty and standard of living. An individual’s level of education largely affects their level of income- capacity and knowledge about promoting education. For instance, Bauch, (2011:14) indicates that, poor parents are likely to have uneducated children, thus entrenching poverty within the household. Therefore, in order to break the cycle of poverty it is imperative for the government to ensure that poor children have access to education. Education provides access to formal employment and is an important asset which cannot be taken away. Access to education will reduce the 40 percent of young children in South Africa reported to be growing up in conditions of abject poverty and neglect (Lemmer and van Wyk, 2010: 120).
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The data analysis indicates that the situation is even worse in relation to pre-primary education as preschools are located in established suburbs and are not affordable to the majority of poor households. As a result they opt to enrol their children in preschools owned by local entrepreneurs. The preschools or early childhood education (ECD) centres in Makause are not registered with the EMM as they are located on privately-owned land and do not meet the required health standards. This renders them ineligible for a subsidy from the DSD. A municipal official argued that:
these preschools are located in an informal and ‘illegal’ location with no physical addresses, no sanitation service and therefore government cannot be seen supporting such initiatives as it is against government regulations and might be interpreted as condoning squatting/illegal occupation of land.
Associated with this challenge is a range of other issues, such as the quality of education provided to children, safety standards as the area is prone to shack fires and the poor standard of nutritional support provided by the preschools. What concerns most parents is that the majority of the teachers operating these preschools are not properly qualified. The Makause education challenge is contrary to government policy (South Africa Schools Act, 1996) which seeks to provide free compulsory basic education in line with the requirements of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996). It should be noted that in the South African context, education is an emotive issue due to past discriminatory policies.
However participants understand the importance of education in breaking the cycle of poverty.
The fact that the study participants linked education with poverty demonstrates their understanding that education is a necessary tool to overcome poverty as it empowers individuals to improve their livelihoods. Despite the conditions of the crèches, children are kept relatively safe and are provided with basic education and food. The Makause community’s experience of poverty confirms the key issues highlighted in the literature review that whilst some aspects of poverty apply mainly at an individual household level, that is low incomes, food shortages, overcrowded homes, and so forth; others are more applicable at the community level, for instance, lack of access to clean water and public facilities such as schools and health care. The
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latter not only affect individual households but the entire community and might lead to chronic poverty and perpetuate the deprivation trap, as argued by Chambers (1983).