Chair, the question relates to the retention and drop-out rates in our schooling system. The reply is that up to around Grade 9, we have almost 100% retention. This number reduces thereafter, because we begin to lose learners when they get to Grade 11 and 12.
To the second part of the question I want to reply that we have almost universal enrolment until the age of 16.
To the third point I want to reply that the survival rate for Grades 10, 11 and 12 between 1980 and 1984 - from research that Minister Pandor did - was 72%, 60% and 46%. This means that for Grade 10 the survival rate is 72%, for Grade 11 it is 60% and for Grade 12 it reduces dramatically. The learner retention at FET level indicates that the percentage of people with Grade 9 who reach Grade 12 tends to remain almost static over the years.
The member wants to know what methods we are using to retain learners. We use different methods. Repeaters are provided second opportunities. There is also some misunderstanding about the calculation of the drop-out rate, as we've said before. What tends to happen is that statisticians or commentators look at how many kids were registered in a particular year and calculate how many of those kids are there after 12 years. Normally, when learners have reached Grade 12, some of them have branched off to FET colleges and some have continued to matric. There is normally a misunderstanding when retention is calculated.
One reason for the dropping out of learners is repetition. When children fail, they feel discouraged and don't repeat a grade. Sometimes it is a question of parental management or control, or it's because of age. We see they drop out at the stage when they become older teenagers - around 16. Issues of criminality, teenage pregnancy and other social reasons also cause learners to drop out after Grade 9.
On the question of what interventions we have, I want to say that we are in the process of gazetting a policy on learner attendance. The policy encourages schools to investigate circumstances around learner absenteeism. Sometimes learners drop out after they have absented themselves from school for a very long time. If you are able to get them back while they are still absenting themselves, you are able to retain them in the system.
Another intervention is to expand the FET sector, to ensure that those learners who have no capacity, ability or even interest to pursue an academic field have another opportunity in an FET college. The other interventions involve working closely with stakeholders and we run ongoing campaigns to encourage parents and children to ensure that they do not drop out of school.
We are also running the Foundations for Learning campaign, which is geared at improving the quality of teaching and learning at schools, because poor teaching does discourage children from continuing their schooling. Schools that underperform have a high drop-out rate. Schools that perform well are able to retain their children longer. Again, it is all about the dysfunctional nature of some schools, which discourages children from going to school. Again, the department will attempt to ensure that there is greater adherence to the norms of age and grade by reducing repetitions through the improved quality of teaching and learning. I thank you.