CHAPTER FOUR: RESEARCH FINDINGS
4.4 PROBLEMS WITH ABET CLASSES ATTENDANCE
esikoleni, Ngiye ngifikelwe umhawu impela, ngisho ngithi bayajabula bona ababanethuba lokuya esikoleni,
[If I look at learned people I become very saddened in my heart, thinking about the damage that my parents caused me by not sending me to school. I feel really envious towards literate people, saying to my self 'happy are them that had an opportunity to attend school'.]
Given the afore mentioned feelings of illiterate people one would expect them to attend PALCs in large numbers. However, this is not the case. Therefore, problems regarding attendance to ABET classes were also explored.
I am now presenting findings in answer to my central research question, which was: "Why are large numbers of illiterate adult members of the Luthuli community
not attending ABET classes?"
kufuneka ngikhulise izingane ngedwa. Ngicabanga nje ngokuyofuna amatoho ukuze ngikwazi ukuziphilisa.
[What makes me fail to attend adult school is that there are many adulthood responsibilities that are holding me back. My husband passed away, I am unemployed and I have to look after our children all by myself. I am thinking of going to look for temporary jobs so that I can sustain my self].
These and other problems that people encounter in their families have a negative effect even on those who attend. They fail to concentrate in class since they tend to think about their family problems during lessons. One other interviewee, who once attended and quickly withdrew, said, 'nganginengane encane engangiyiphatha okwakufanele ngiyinakekele. [I had a small baby which I was looking after and which I had to care for.]
From this information it is clear that it takes courage and determination for an adult person to attend PALCs.
4.4.2 ILL-HEALTH
Sickness in the family also is the cause for non-attendance to PALCs especially for women. One out ten of the participants highlighted ill health as one of things that disturbed her from attending adult school. She said,
Ngake ngaya esikoleni sabadala, kwasho ukuthi ngalesosikhathi kwase kuqala ukugula kwendodana yethu. Kwakufanele ngiyigade. Empeleni sasifunda naye ubaba wekhaya, sayeka sobabili ngoba indodana yayigula kabi, iphithene ikhanda.
[I once attended adult school, but the mental illness of our son caused
with my husband. However, both of us had to discontinue our attendance since our son was seriously mentally disturbed.]
Other people are just sick themselves and cannot afford to attend school. One of my interviewees highlighted this where he said,
Into ebuhlungu ukuthi ngasuke ngagula ngaphathwa amehlo. Manje ngangithi sengikhona esikoleni ngingaboni ukuthi kubhalwe ini.
Asengcono khona kodwa kusafanele ngiye ekliniki yamehlo ngiyohlolwa kahle.
[The bad thing is that I suffered from eyes and I could not afford to attend school anymore. The problem was so severe that I could not even see what was written on the chalkboard Nevertheless, they have become better now but I still need to go to clinic for thorough checking.]
This problem of ill health is becoming worse in the current situation where our communities are ravaged by HIV/AIDS scourge. Many people are infected and or affected by HIV/AIDS. This ultimately causes problems with school attendance.
This problem affects both day school and adult school learners. Besides this, I am aware that sicknesses like arthritis, high blood pressure, and diabetes are not uncommon among adult people in my community. These and other sicknesses have a negative impact on attendance to the PALC's. What makes the situation even worse is that in our area there are no clinics where people can access medical help and stay healthy. Besides having no clinic there are no community health workers to educate people on good nutrition, healthy lifestyle and
importance of taking doctors medications as prescribed
4.4.3 DISTANCE TO PALCs
The location of PALCs can create attendance problems. If the distance to school is long some people find it difficult to attend. Two out of ten interview participants reported that they encountered problems regarding distance to adult schools.
One of my interviewees said,
Ukungabikho kwami esikoleni sabadala ukuthi ngiqhelile kakhulu nesikole sabadala. Kungaba ngcono kakhulu uma besingasondezwa eduze.
[I am far from adult school. If it could be nearer I would definitely attend].
It is important to note that most of these illiterate adults are more than 45 years of age and some are in their sixties. So, travelling a long distance on foot to school is quite difficult for them.
4.4.4 PROBLEM OF OLD AGE
During my focus group interviews two out of six participants highlighted the fact that they were too old to attend PALO One even said,
Njengoba zifunda nje izingane zethu ziyazi ukuthi zifundela imisebenzi ethile eziyongena kuyo uma seziqedile. Njengobe selishona kimina ilanga okufundiswayo njengoba sengimdala kangaka. Angifuni mina
ukuhlekwa zingane zami.
[Our school going children know very well what jobs they are learning for. As 'the sun is setting with me' (as I am ageing) there is no point in attending classes and I don't think I will be able to learn anything as I have grown quite old. I don't want to be laughed at by my children.]
The following section is in answer to the research question:
What are the needs and aspirations of the illiterate adults in relation to literacy?