Understanding the Challenges Facing South Africa's Youth in 2025
Dr Sheetal Bhoola is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Zululand, and the director at StellarMaths (Sunningdale). Picture: Supplied
Image: Supplied
THE month of June brings South Africa's youth to the fore.
Youth Month is all about understanding the role youth play in society and determining how we can meet their needs as a society and community.
The youth of South Africa constitute approximately one-third of South Africa's population and comprise individuals who are between the ages of 15 and 34 years.
Recent years in South Africa have been difficult for youth in our country. We have had a staggering ratio of youth unemployment coupled with schools being poorly resourced with teachers and materials for effective teaching and learning to take place.
In addition, many of our youth have become victims of sexual harassment and various forms of violence on school premises.
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The sense of belonging and safety within the school community has been eroded and further exacerbated by the increasing number of teachers who have been the perpetrators and or have been witnesses to these incidents but have opted to be silent.
Parents and children now question their safety on the premises, and amidst school teachers and principals.
Schools in particular have no longer become safe spaces for our youth and it is overwhelming for many.
Also, these children have to focus on improving academic focus and achievement and try to identify their academic strengths and weaknesses to facilitate the development of a career after schooling years.
Our youth are constantly struggling with developing careers post-school and university as many graduates are not absorbed by the formal economy.
During research encounters, I have met young unemployed graduates who seek to create a livelihood in entrepreneurship as a means of survival and in some cases have no correlation with their qualifications.
But more importantly, university pass rates are low nationally, and in present times, the university student drop-out rate is high.
It has been reported that approximately 50% of first-year level students drop out and the reasons are multiple.
In 2023, it was reported that only 7.3% of South Africans between the ages of 25 and older have a degree, despite the numerous efforts of the government to fund education at tertiary educational institutions.
Statistics South Africa has reported that the unemployment rate among young females was estimated at 49,4% in 2024, and the reasons varied.
Central to the motivation as to why women also choose to be unemployed during their years of youth is that they may be young and new mothers as aligned with the female biological clock and other family responsibilities.
These responsibilities can impede their educational attainment and, subsequently, their advancement within the South African labor market.
Other reasons include a lack of appropriate career counseling, lack of financial and academic support as well as poor academic performance which are often associated with work or family commitments.
The need to address the high student dropout rate should be prioritised and it can begin by understanding why.
It was also reported that approximately one in two Technikon first-year students tend to drop out and in the majority of cases they have not had appropriate and encouraging career counseling. The need for youth to empower themselves through educational and social upliftment has to be reinforced through mass media engagements and public discourses.
We have a huge drug and alcohol consumption problem among our youth too, and research has indicated that the consumption of drugs and alcohol contributes to poor academic performance, leaving schoolgoers feeling discouraged and leaving, whereas university students drop out.
Career counseling should become a mandatory component of school curriculums nationally, especially at the onset of secondary school. Youth need to be guided appropriately and in detail.
They need to be informed about how subject choices can impact the trajectory of their career and educational development after completing Grade 12.
The majority of South African youth need to be fully informed of what it takes to build a career and understand the importance of setting goals for themselves. To complement this, learners need to be taught appropriate study skills so that their academic performance can be enhanced.
Study skills are a lifelong tool that is required by every individual to learn and develop through educational systems. Often youth are left to develop these skills independently and somewhat struggle to identify a study approach that is best suited to their needs, challenges, and personalities.
Youth need to be taught how to absorb, process, and retain information that they are taught in the schooling and tertiary education environments.
These skills need to be taught and can be learned through specific exercises combined with time management skills.
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