SA’s education system is failing our boys: The story behind the stats

The anxiously awaited matric results are out, and once again the dropout rates among boys and young men are in the spotlight. The Department of Basic Education estimates that 40% of pupils drop out of school, most of them boys. Boys are also more likely to repeat grades.

These stats are well known, but they raise questions: What conditions underlie them, and, more importantly, what plans and strategies are in place to support our boys?

Shafika Isaacs’s critical research study (2019) offers a glimpse into this issue. Using a “thick description” approach, Isaacs looks beyond the “underperforming boy” and observes the lived realities of her subject matter, Kabelo, a nine-year-old boy from Soweto. Kabelo was struggling with reading in both English and Sesotho, but he was far more than a struggling reader.

With Soweto as his vast playground, Kabelo demonstrated remarkable capabilities: navigational knowledge, political awareness, family religious affiliation and cultural practices. Yet, these strengths were undervalued, misrecognised and overshadowed by his academic challenges.

Isaacs’s observations of Kabelo over 18 months highlight the importance of acknowledging and recognising the whole person: the boy beneath the literacy scores. Like Kabelo, many boys across South Africa are branded with the deficits of “poor reader”, “underperformer” or “slow learner”. These labels are often applied without understanding of their wider context and, worse still, without targeted support to address their challenges.

The broader challenges

South African research shows that schools punish rather than correct disruptive behavioural issues such as bullying and school-based violence with corporal punishment, suspensions and expulsions which disproportionately affect boys. These absences and exclusions exacerbate learning loss and deepen disengagement from school.

Compounding the problem is the lack of male role models in the education system. According to the Africa Check Report (2018) more than 70% of teachers are female, leaving a significant gap in mentorship and guidance for the boy-child. Boys are often disciplined more harshly, which can fuel aggression and disengagement, eventually pushing them to drop out entirely.

What can be done?

The Zero Drop Out Campaign has called for targeted interventions for boys, cautioning against perpetuating gender stereotypes while advocating for effective dropout prevention strategies. But what does this look like in practice?

First, schools must recognise and value the diverse capabilities boys bring, much like Kabelo’s navigational and cultural knowledge. Play and experiential learning should be integrated into curriculums to engage boys in ways that resonate with their strengths.

Second, addressing the disciplinary bias against boys in curriculums. Corporal punishment and harsh disciplinary measures must be replaced with restorative practices that focus on pupil agency and encouraging pro-social behaviour rather than punishment and ultimately exclusion.

Third, Mzoli Mncanca and colleagues (University of Johannesburg) have shown that efforts to recruit and retain more male teachers are essential. Boys need role models who can guide them through the challenges of adolescence and inspire them to stay in school.

Finally, communities and families have a role to play. Mentorship programmes, after-school activities and safe spaces for boys to express themselves can help bridge the gap left by schools. The Human Sciences Research Council has demonstrated that, in South Africa and globally, mentorship programmes and after-school activities can help bridge the gap left by schools (HSRC, 2021), while the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation has shown that safe spaces for emotional expression can do the same – reducing dropout rates by up to 30%. Additionally, the Zero Dropout Campaign has shown that psychosocial support is important and that it has a positive impact for most boys and girls who have directly participated.

A call to action

The statistics are alarming, but they are not inevitable. If we continue to judge boys only by conventional assessments and continue to fail to integrate their broader capabilities, how many more Kabelos will we lose before the system changes?

It is time to rethink how we better educate and support our boys. By recognising their strengths, addressing the systemic barriers they face and providing targeted interventions, we can create a system that works for everyone, not just girls.

Jenean Pretorius is the Zenex LEAD Fellow at Kelello Collectives and a PhD candidate in inclusive education at the University of the Witwatersrand. She is a MERL Specialist and a board member at the South African Monitoring and Evaluations Association.