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[FILE] The closure of the school means learners from Grade R to Grade 7 will walk close to 10 km to get to alternative schools.
A Stellenbosch University study has found that male learners in Grade 1 are more likely to repeat the grade compared to their female counterparts.
The study, conducted by the university’s Research on Socio-Economic Policy group, examined gender disparities in early education and analysed the transition of learners from being taught in their mother tongue in Grade 3 to English in Grade 4.
Researcher Ros Clayton says, “Between grades 3 and 4, there appears to be a further widening of that gap, with girls transitioning slightly easier than boys at that point. What that means is if we look at two comparable learners in grade three and one is a boy and one is a girl, by the time they get to grade 4, the boy would be more likely to repeat, actually two to four percentage points more likely to repeat than the girl, even though those two learners were comparable in grade 3.”
The study says the findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to address gender disparities in early education and support boys during critical transitions in their schooling.
