South Africa’s education system is faced with a myriad of challenges that negatively impact learning and employment outcomes. Studies such as the ThrivebyFive Index show that many learners start Grade 1 already far behind, with only 42% of our children in early learning settings are developmentally “on track”, which is one of the contributing factors to our deep literacy issues and school dropout rates, directly impacting young people’s employability when they enter the job market later.
Every year, we see headlines highlighting the intensity of some of these challenges and how they continue to keep many young people in a cycle of poverty and exclusion. Research indicates that by Grade 3, two out of ten learners have already exited the schooling system, and by Grade 9, that number increases to four out of ten. By Grade 11, nearly seven out of ten have left.
These figures paint a picture of a system under continuous strain, stretched beyond what schools alone can address. It is clear that South Africa has a learning support crisis; children are failing because they do not have the right support in place to ensure that they are successful. We lose them in the hours when the system goes silent. After School Programmes (ASPs) are the country’s most overlooked solution to this gap.
The Missing Middle in Learning
After School Programmes have quietly emerged as South Africa’s “missing middle” in education reform, the critical layer that strengthens what happens in classrooms while supporting what learners face outside them. These programmes hold the space where learning is deepened, confidence is rebuilt and learners access the academic, emotional and social scaffolding they need to thrive.
For learners in communities with limited resources, the hours after school can become a “make-or-break”. When children return to homes that lack academic supervision, quiet spaces, or supportive adults, they fall further behind. Many also face social risks including substance abuse, crime exposure, domestic pressure and gender-based violence.
Article Originally published by Social TV. Click HERE to learn more.