Non-formal education and training opportunities for youth living in the rural areas of South Africa

This report focuses on youth living in rural areas of South Africa who areaged between 15 and 28 and who left school without a grade 12 certificate.It examines the non-formal and formal educational and training opportunitiesavailable to youth who live outside of the main urban areas and concludes thatthere are limited opportunities to access such programs despite the nationalqualification framework which aims to redress the past inequalities caused bythe apartheid government. The report also argues that programs that focus onlyon skills development are unlikely to result in sustainable development of theindividual and that a more holistic approach to development is required. Thereport concludes that lack of coherence in delivery of education and training programs leading to qualifications aimed at youth living in rural areas as wellas arduous bureaucratic demands has forced service providers to opt out of thequalification framework and to revert to small scale independent delivery