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School Migration: A Major Concern in Previously Disadvantaged Schools in South Africa

Myra Maboya, Graduate School Education, University of Bristol, UK
M.Maboya@bristol.ac.uk

Migratory movements in South Africa can no longer be defined narrowly as labour migration since the dismantling of the apartheid influx control policies during the 1990s. To some degree, however small, all educational institutions have some level of pupils moving in or out. School migration in previously disadvantaged schools in South Africa has recently become a major concern for many. This paper is based on a study conducted to investigate the issue of school migration within the context of one district in Limpopo Province in South Africa, where the high influx of children from previously disadvantaged schools, usually the black schools, to the schools that were historically advantaged is of major concern to the people. Results from qualitative interviews conducted with parents, teachers, students and school principals, show that the lack of commitment on the part of some of the teachers and principals, school management incapacity, absence of a monitoring system to substitute inspection, inadequate facilities and low teacher-morale, contribute to poor conditions in black schools, which in turn influence school migration. The paper concludes by discussing the challenges that the South African government is faced with, both nationally and provincially and recommending ways to reduce school migration within the country