CHALLENGES FOR VULNERABLE YOUNG PEOPLE IN ACCESSING HIGHER EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY OF ORANGE FARM INFORMAL SETTLEMENT, SOUTH AFRICA By WF MKWANANZI (Student no: 2006 0000 59) Dissertation submitted in partial requirement for the degree of Master’s in Development Studies in the FACULTY OF ECONOMIC AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES CENTRE FOR DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT at the UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE SUPERVISOR: Professor Melanie Walker BLOEMFONTEIN 2013 DECLARATION I declare that “Challenges for vulnerable young people in accessing higher education: A case study of Orange Farm informal settlement, South Africa” submitted for the Master’s in Development Studies at the Centre for Development Support, University of the Free State, is my own independent work, and has not been submitted for any degree or examination in any institution. Full Name: Wadzanai Faith Mkwananzi Signature: ………………………………… Date: ………………………… Faith ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The successful completion of this dissertation is as a result of contributions from different individuals, whom I wish to acknowledge, with gratitude: • I respect and thank my supervisor, Professor Melanie Walker, for granting me the opportunity to work on my dissertation under her guidance and support. I am grateful to her for introducing me to the capabilities approach. Her selfless sharing of knowledge and insights throughout the study has built in me an interest in social justice and higher education research. • I am extremely fortunate and grateful to have received the research scholarship from the Centre for Higher Education and Capabilities Research (CHECaR). The funding made the completion of this dissertation possible. • I am highly grateful to Doctor Sonja Loots for working through my drafts and providing valuable feedback throughout the writing process. • I owe profound gratitude to my colleague, Oliver Mutanga, for dedicating time to go through my work and share ideas. • I am thankful to the whole CHECaR research team for constant encouragement and support. My sincere thanks to Lucretia Smith for her timely support in administrative matters related to my study. • I would not forget all the research participants who agreed to be interviewed, thereby making this study possible. ii Faith KEYWORDS Access Agency Aspirations Capability approach Challenges Conversion factors Disadvantaged Freedom Higher education Human development Social justice Vulnerable young people Orange Farm iii Faith ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS CA – Capabilities approach CBO – Community-based organisation CHE – Council of Higher Education DHET – Department of Higher Education and Training DoE – Department of Education HDR – Human Development Report HE – Higher education NGO – Non-governmental organisation NPHE – National Plan for Higher Education UNAIDS – United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS UNCRC – United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child UNICEF – United Nations Children’s Fund iv Faith ABSTRACT This study outlines the challenges for vulnerable young people in accessing higher education, based on a case study conducted at Orange Farm informal settlement. Statistics show that student enrolment in higher education (HE) institutions has dramatically increased over the past years, from 473 000 (CHE, 1999) in 1993 to 938 201 in 2011, a clear indication that HE is increasingly addressing issues of access. Despite these positive trends, which should greatly benefit previously marginalised communities, there are still marginalised groups in our society which we know little about. This study seeks to build wider awareness of one such group, vulnerable young people. One way of highlighting what is needed by vulnerable young people to access HE is through the capabilities approach (CA). The CA addresses issues of aspirations, agency and conversion factors, and has been used to analyse the situation of deprived people and create policies that give them access to the necessary resources and the ability to make choices (Alkire, 2002). In approaching vulnerability, Misztal’s (2011) three types of vulnerabilities, namely dependence on others, unpredictability and irreversibility will be used. Since this study is concerned with individual attitudes, perceptions and opinions rather than statistics, the researcher adopted a qualitative approach. The primary data collection strategy was face-to-face interviews with selected young people living in care and with their caregivers. Two graduates were also interviewed to determine whether they experienced similar challenges than those faced by young people today. Participants were selected using purposive sampling. The findings from the data revealed little difference between the challenges that the young people are faced with currently and those experienced by graduates in the past. v Faith TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ............................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................. ii KEYWORDS .................................................................................................................................. iii ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS.......................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................... v TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................ vi LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................................... x LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................................xi CORE ELEMENTS OF THE STUDY ........................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH PROBLEM .............................................. 2 BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................... 2 Problem statement ....................................................................................................... 3 Research argument ..................................................................................................... 3 Research aim and questions ....................................................................................... 3 Value of the study ................................................................................................................. 4 CHAPTER OUTLINE ............................................................................................................ 4 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER 2: CONTEXT AND CONCEPTUAL ORIENTATION ............................................. 7 VULNERABILITY .................................................................................................................. 7 Defining “vulnerable young people” .......................................................................... 7 Conceptualising vulnerability ..................................................................................... 8 CONTEXTUALISING HIGHER EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA ........................................ 9 The South African Constitution ................................................................................ 10 The White Paper on Education and Training (1997 ................................................. 11 The Higher Education Act (Act 101 of 1997) ............................................................ 11 The 2001 National Plan for Higher Education .......................................................... 11 The 2012 National Development Plan ....................................................................... 12 ORANGE FARM ................................................................................................................. 12 Poverty ....................................................................................................................... 13 HIV/AIDS prevalence in Orange Farm ....................................................................... 15 Education ................................................................................................................... 16 Developments ............................................................................................................ 16 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 17 vi Faith CHAPTER 3: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ........................................................................ 19 BACKGROUND TO MAINSTREAM DEVELOPMENT APPROACHES ............................... 19 Participatory approach to development ................................................................... 19 Basic needs approach ............................................................................................... 20 Human centred approach .......................................................................................... 20 Human scale development ........................................................................................ 20 THE CAPABILITIES APPROACH ......................................................................................