Covid19 Pandemic Results in a 20 Year High School Dropout Rate

Friday, July 09, 2021 at 10:18 AM by Reeshni Chetty

A team of researchers have revealed that the number of learners who have dropped out of school since the global pandemic has reached a 20-year high
The number has tripled since pre-covid pandemic and this is reportedly very worrying for many in the field
An extra 500 000 students dropped out of school since the start of the pandemic according to the National Income Dynamics Study - Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey

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New research has shown that the Covid-19 global pandemic has resulted in a 20-year high school drop-out record. The National Income Dynamics Study - Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM) painted a scary picture of the impact of the pandemic with regard to schooling in SA.

An extra 500 000 kids have left school during the global pandemic according to NIDS-CRAM. The study is conducted through a local consortium of around 30 social science researchers from countrywide tertiary institutions.

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The educational research was conducted by Nompumelo Mohohlwane from the Department of Basic Education in collaboration with Department of Economics at Stellenbosch University's Debra Shepherd.

School drop out, rate, pandemic, reaches 20-year high — The number of students who have dropped out since the global pandemic has reached a 20-year high. Image: Papi Morake/Gallo Images
Source: Getty Images

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According to News24, at least 10% of adults in SA reported that around one student in their household has not returned to school in April of this year. This recording was 5% in November 2020. The provinces with the lowest return rates are the Eastern Cape and the Free State.

A report by BusinessTech revealed that schools dropouts have gone from 230 000 before the pandemic to around 750 000 in May 2021, this means that the amount of learners leaving school have almost tripled.

Briefly News' Covid-19 update reveals some grim statistics

Earlier, Briefly News reported that South Africa's cumulative Covid-19 death toll has risen to 63 499 with 460 new deaths recorded in 24 hours. SA's coronavirus infections have risen to 22 190 in a single day on Thursday, 8 July; this is according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD).