Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

Exploring the Causes of Student Attrition in South African TVET Colleges: A Case of One KwaZulu-Natal Technical and Vocational Education and Training College

  • Published:
Interchange Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges are the cornerstone in addressing unemployment, poverty and building the economy of the Republic of South Africa by producing well-equipped artisans. TVET Colleges are expected to enrol 2.5 million students by 2030 (Branson et al. in S Afr Child Gauge 1:1–8, 2015). To achieve this, the TVET Colleges should have a sound throughput at the end of each academic cycle. However, the main challenge faced by the TVET Colleges and the Department of Higher Education and Training at large is high levels of student attrition which impede the TVET Colleges from achieving their goals. This study sought to ascertain the nature of and the reasons behind this high attrition rate. The acquisition of this knowledge should be an essential step in addressing the problem. Drawing on a mixed-methods approach, this study conducted interviews (N = 20) and questionnaire surveys (N = 100) with purposively selected staff and students at one TVET College in KwaZulu-Natal Province. The findings show that attrition is high and uniform across the programmes and campuses. Factors behind the high attrition rate at the TVET Colleges include dissatisfaction with the programs offered, inadequate student induction and inadequate student work placement. This study concluded that the causes of student attrition are multidimensional and multi-sourced. A multi-pronged strategy implemented by responsible stakeholders is required to solve this problem.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
€32.70 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price includes VAT (Finland)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Source: Bean and Metzner 1985:491)

Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [author initials], upon reasonable request.

Abbreviations

CMNSA:

Conceptual Model of Nontraditional Student Attrition

CMPTN5:

Campus Manager Pinetown

DHET:

Department of Higher Education and Training

NCV L4:

National Certificate (Vocational) Level 4

NSFAS:

National Student Financial Aid Scheme

PNN:

Probabilistic neural network

SRC:

Student Representative Council

STUNDW:

Student Ndwedwe

TVET:

Technical and Vocational Education and Training

References

  • Amoo, A. O. & Swart, A. J. (2018, April). The influence of class attendance on the throughput rates of students at a FET college in South Africa. In: 2018 IEEE global engineering education conference (EDUCON) (pp. 10–14). IEEE.

  • Asmal, R., Soni, P., & David, J. E. (2016). Downgrade and junk status looms on the horizon for the South African Economy: Finance Minister in a no win situation as toxic politics takes center stage. International Journal of Accounting Research, 42(3495), 1–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bean, J. P., & Metzner, B. S. (1985). A conceptual model of non-traditional undergraduate student attrition. Review of Educational Research, 55(4), 485–540.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Branson, N., Hofmeyr, C., Papier, J., & Needham, S. (2015). Post-school education: Broadening alternative pathways from school to work. South African Child Gauge, 1, 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crowther, D. (2018). Formulation of a sustainable financial management strategy for South African Universities ‘hotel schools. Doctoral dissertation, Bloemfontein: Central University of Technology, Free State.

  • Department of Higher Education and Training. (2013). White paper for post-school education and training: Building an expanded, effective and integrated post-school system. Pretoria: Department of Higher Education and Training.

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Higher Education and Training. (2017). National skills development plan. Pretoria: Department of Higher Education and Training.

    Google Scholar 

  • DHET. (2015). Statistics on technical and vocational education and training, community education and training and private colleges examinations in South Africa: 2015 Pretoria: Department of Higher Education and Training. Online: http://www.dhet.gov.za/DHET%20Statistics%20Publication/Statistics%20on%20TVET,CET,%20and%20Private%20colleges%20Examinations_2015_Released%20Nov%202017.pdf. Accessed 19 Dec 2018.

  • Durkheim, E. (1951) [1897]. Suicide. New York: Free Press.

  • Graham, C. D., & Massyn, L. (2019). Interaction equivalency theorem: Towards interaction support of non-traditional doctoral students. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 14(23), 187–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helminiry, H. S., Noor, S. W. M., & Isha, M. (2016). Student attrition at Technical and Vocational Educational Training (TVET) Institutions: The case of XCel Technical College in Malaysia. Asian Social Science, 12(1), 197–214.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kruzicevic, S. M., Barisic, K. J., Banozic, A., Esteban, C. D., Sapunar, D., & Puljak, L. (2012). Predictors of attrition and academic success of medical students: A 30-year retrospective study. PLoS ONE, 7(6), 39–144.

    Google Scholar 

  • Letseka, M., & Maile, S. (2008). High university drop-out rates: A threat to South Africa’s future. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mason, C., Twomey, J., Wright, D., & Whitman, L. (2018). Predicting engineering student attrition risk using a probabilistic neural network and comparing results with a backpropagation neural network and logistic regression. Research in Higher Education, 59(3), 382–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moodley, P., & Singh, R. J. (2015). Addressing student dropout rates at South African universities. Alternation Special Edition, 17, 91–115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mutereko, S., & Wedekind, V. (2016). Work integrated learning for engineering qualifications: A spanner in the works? Journal of Education and Work, 29(8), 902–921.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oketch, M. O. (2007). To vocationalise or not to vocationalise? Perspectives on current trends and issues in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Africa. International Journal of Educational Development, 27(2), 220–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pillay, A. L., & Ngcobo, H. S. (2010). Sources of stress and support among rural-based first-year university students: An exploratory study. South African Journal of Psychology, 40(3), 234–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, I., Yeld, N., & Hendry, J. (2007). A case for improving teaching and learning in South African higher education. Higher Education Monitor, 6(2), 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seidel, E., & Kutieleh, S. (2017). Using predictive analytics to target and improve first-year student attrition. Australian Journal of Education., 61(2), 200–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van der Bijl, A., & Lawrence, M. (2018). Retention and attrition among National Certificate (Vocational) Civil and Construction students in South African TVET. Industry and Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950422218800649.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weller, M., van Ameijde, J., & Cross, S. (2018). Learning design for student retention. Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice, 6(2), 41–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yin, R. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods (4th Edn.). London: Sage Publications Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We like to acknowledge the Department of Higher Education for granting us the permission to carry out this study in their college.

Funding

This study did not receive funding from any organisation or individual.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Law and Management Studies, University of KwaZulu- Natal, Durban, South Africa

    Wiseman V. Zulu & Sybert Mutereko

Authors
  1. Wiseman V. Zulu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sybert Mutereko
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sybert Mutereko.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

There are no competing interest to declare.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zulu, W.V., Mutereko, S. Exploring the Causes of Student Attrition in South African TVET Colleges: A Case of One KwaZulu-Natal Technical and Vocational Education and Training College. Interchange 51, 385–407 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10780-019-09384-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10780-019-09384-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation