Educational interventions to address the NEETs’ issues, internationally and in Eswatini, have been based on empirical data with superficial youth consultation if any. For instance, internationally the MDG reports only state that the number of out-of-school children globally has dropped from 100 million to 72 million in 2007 and that these trends revealed that some 56 million children worldwide could still have been out-of-school by 2015 (UNESCO, 2010). The reports, however, do not indicate the views of the out-of-school youths on these interventions.
With regard to Eswatini’s compliance with the MDGs, particularly Goal Number 2, the following milestones have been achieved:
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Table 1.1: Milestones for Eswatini’s Primary Education since 2002
YEAR MILESTONE 2002 2003 2003 2005 2009 2010 2011 Free textbooks Free stationery OVC Grant
Free Primary Education (FPE) in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Eswatini FPE programme launched
FPE Act enacted and programme rolled out for Grades 1 and 2 New Education Sector Policy
Source: UNICEF (2013)
To improve educational access whilst responding to MDG Number 2, the Government of Eswatini has introduced the grants for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) established in 2003 (Motsa & Morojele, 2017) and the Free Primary Education (FPE) programme that was rolled out in 2010.
With regard to the provision of literacy, like other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Eswatini’s literacy rates significantly improved from 40 percent in the 1960’s to 89.1 percent in 2007 (Central Statistical Office, 2007). This indicates that in Eswatini, 9 140 000 adults were illiterate: 2 838 400 males and 6 301 600 females (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2010 cited in OSISA, 2012). Whilst there was much improvement in adult literacy reflected by the 2007 Eswatini’s 2007 Population Census (Central Statistical Office, 2007), there was a head count of about 37 000 children of school going age that were out-of-school in Eswatini (OSISA, 2012). According to the OSISA study, 19 000 of those out-of-school were 15 – 24 year old youth, 11 590 male and 7 410 female. The NEETs were viewed as a response to an education system and economy that is unable to cope with educational demands (Aitchison, 2010). These youths had, in many cases, inadequate or low educational levels which made them virtually unemployable in the increasingly sophisticated ‘knowledge economy’ workplaces. Such characteristics hindered the NEET’s contribution to a country’s economy; even then they were seen as a drain.
Of great concern is that these interventions are universal and do not look into individual learners’ concerns and contexts. According to Yates and Payne (2006), such interventions, which aim at reducing NEETs, tend to group NEETs and prescribe a universal intervention
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for them. They argue that the interventions ignore the different situations and difficulties faced by these young people within their varied contexts. Some of the interventions the Eswatini government has employed to address NEETs include improving educational access and transition and increasing youth employment opportunities.
The implementation of FPE partly responded to the issues of financial challenges faced by learners not accessing or dropping out of, school. The number of primary schools increased from 587 in 2009 to 595 in 2010 (EMIS, 2012). The Education Management Information Systems report (2012) states that the highest enrolment was also reported in 2010. However, Grade One had the highest increase in enrolment and drop-outs in 2010 as compared to 2009. The highest dropouts could be attributed to the over-aged children who enrolled for Grade One. The age requirement for entry into Grade One is 6, but a larger portion of the pupils was aged between 7 and 8 whilst some were between 10 and 20 years (EMIS, 2012). Primary schools registered these over-age children contrary to the FPE Act which states that these students should enrol in Non-formal Education.
The FPE’s implementation was faced with challenges (Mdluli, 2010). High enrolments were one of them, as in some places learners had to be turned back whilst in some schools a class had more than 60 learners. Although this was purported to be ‘free’ educational provision, there were hidden costs such as transport fees and uniforms. The inclusion of over-age children was another challenge. The formal school teachers did not have the strategies of teaching these learners. Some areas were inaccessible geographically.
Repetition and dropout rates continued to be a challenge even with the introduction of FPE (EMIS, 2012; Mdluli, 2010). The high influx of the learners resulting in classroom congestion might have compromised the quality of teaching and learning. Lack of individualized care for learners with special needs, which include the over-age children, may have contributed significantly to the high failure and dropout rate.
Although the Net Enrolment Rate at 94.4 percent is celebrated, there are still children of school-going age who are out of formal school (EMIS, 2015). The number of secondary schools as opposed to the growing number of primary schools resulting from the implementation of FPE, does not promote access and educational transition on its own (ibid.). Even the scholarship policy that provides financial assistance after completing Eswatini General Certificate for Secondary Education (EGCSE) alone does not seem to address the issue as only 7 percent of the children who entered primary complete or write SGCSE examination. I believe that an increase in understanding of this special group (NEETs) and
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their educational needs by policy developers can contribute in reducing their being out-of- school, in training or employment.
With regard to improving youth employment opportunities, the Government of Eswatini has also taken some steps. In 2009 a ‘National Youth Policy’ was developed. The vision of the policy was to create and ensure
an enabling environment for young people to actively participate and contribute to the transformation and socio-economic development and good governance processes that shape the present and future destiny of the communities in which they live (Kingdom of Swaziland, 2009, p. 3).
Following this policy, a Youth Enterprise Fund was established in 2009 whose aim was to reduce youth unemployment through the provision of business capital for young people aged between 18 and 35, as well as for associations and companies headed by the youth. Other initiatives to reduce youth unemployment include ‘Junior Achievement’ and ‘Kick Start’. Ignoring the youth’s voices, their attitudes and experiences may have contributed to the interventions’ low success rate. As Dlamini (2013, p. 3) indicates,
‘Youth is most often excluded from participation in the policy processes yet the policies also have a bearing on the youth. In Eswatini, although 43 percent of the total population comprises of the youth, the current urban rural structures allow for very minimal participation of the youth in the economic, social and political arena’
Given this current limitation, this study seeks to explore an in-depth understanding of the youth’s educational experiences from their own perspective within the Eswatini context.