The dropping performance in National Certificate: Vocational [NC(V)] level 4 English in South African Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges has attracted the attention of administrators, academicians and researchers alike due to the declining rate of students who are getting certified. While the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) in South Africa is using the TVET Colleges as drivers of the economy in terms of reducing the unemployment rate, it is therefore imperative to dig deeper and unearth what might have delayed the realisation of the government’s objectives. Through the use of a case study design, this study employed a qualitative semi-structured interview, observation, government policy documents and questionnaire to find answers on the factors that contributed to the low academic achievement of NC (V) level 4 English in one of the TVET Colleges in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Twelve participants, including lecturers, students and head of department were randomly selected from those involved in English level 4. The findings of the study reveal that students, lecturers, and TVET College are responsible for the low academic performance of NC (V) level 4 students. This study therefore finds it crucial for the DHET and the college to strengthen its management practices and policies on lectures and students to deal with the factors that contribute to low academic achievement of NC(V) level 4 English.
further education and training, national students financial aid scheme, Department of Higher Education and Training, academic achievement
Simanga Phillip Lukhele. Corresponding author. Department of Educational Leadership and Management, University of South Africa, South Africa. Email: 17269741@mylife.unisa.ac.za
Mosima Martha Ramaoka. Department of Curriculum Studies, University of South Africa, South Africa. Email: 33447748@mylife.unisa.ac.za
LDM Lebeloane. Department of Educational Leadership and Management, University of South Africa, South Africa. Email: lebelld@unisa.ac.za
"All authors equally contributed to the conception, design, preparation, data gathering and analysis, and writing of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript."
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
This work was not supported by any funding.
This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical guidelines set by University of South Africa. The conduct of this study has been approved and given relative clearance(s) by the University of South Africa.
AI tools were not used in writing this paper.
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Cite this article:
Lukhele, S.P., Ramaoka, M.M. & Lebeloane, L.D.M. (2024). Factors contributing to academic achievement of National Certificate Vocation level 4 English in the TVET Colleges: A case study. International Journal of Educational Management and Development Studies, 6(1), 208-228. https://doi.org/10.53378/ijemds.353163
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