In South Africa, the Eastern Cape Province (ECP) has shown the lowest matriculation pass rates for most of 1994 to 2002. This has led to great academic and media focus on the managerial and leadership role of school principals, which became the inspiration for this education management study. The researcher investigated a school principal's efficiency and effectiveness in a school system, and the detrimental impact on learner academic achievement should these vital skills be lacking. Thus, the role of the school principals at schools with low matriculation pass rates was probed to reveal shortcomings in the level of their commitment, and how these could be rectified. The researcher completed a qualitative research study at four schools with low matriculation pass rates in the Eastern Cape Province. The empirical study confirmed that learners at many schools with low matriculation pass rates are subjected to poor infrastructure and overcrowding. Furthermore, the school principals did not create school atmospheres conducive to teaching and learning, and neglected to foster open communication between the school stakeholders. The study found that the school principal's management and leadership role was not based on the belief that all learners are worthy of being taught under the best possible educational conditions. The teachers are required to promote learner academic interests, made possible through efficient classroom management, to sustain teacher quality, and to ensure learner academic achievement, yet they are subjected to poor working environments and ill-disciplined learners. This study nevertheless emphasises that all school stakeholders are accountable for low matriculation pass rates, but that it is the responsibility of the school principals to institute corrective measures. It highlights that parents can enhance learner academic progress through their active involvement in their children's learning process and the provision of home environments conducive to learning. There is a need to guide school principals and school stakeholders to make every educational effort to improve the current low matriculation pass rates in the ECP. Relevant recommendations and a suggested model to rectify the situation are proposed to ensure that all learners receive the quality of education they deserve. / Faculty of Education / D.Ed. (Teacher Education)

This study was interested in investigating the factors contributing to low completion rates at a TVET college in the North-West Province. There is not much research conducted on the low completion rates at TVET Colleges in South Africa. The study sought to explore the understanding of completion rates at TVET Colleges, the current completion rates and the causes and the strategies that might be employed to increase the completion rates. Qualitative methodology was used to collect data, using semi-structured interviews for all the focus group interviews. Collected data were transcribed, interpreted, analysed and the findings were presented. The study revealed that factors contributing to the low completion rates are finance and management issues, staff problems, policy factors, socio-economic factors and students’ personal factors that require attention in order to increase the completion rates. These include lecturer qualifications, student funding, inadequate infrastructure, drug and substance abuse, involvement of stakeholders and lack of adherence to policies. The study recommends proper administration of students’ bursaries, effective Quality Management System (QMS), lecturer development, adequate infrastructure and efficient policies to be implemented. The study might draw the attention of the DHET, the college management and other stakeholders in order to come up with interventions to remedy the low completion rates at TVET Colleges. / Educational Management and Leadership / M. Ed. (Educational Management)

The improvement of throughput rates is a crucial factor at higher education institutions; hence, university departments focus on improving pass rates per module. This study investigated how lecturers in the School of Computing (SoC) at the University of South Africa, use technology for improving throughput rates in an Open Distance Learning (ODL) context. The study sought answers to the main research question on how lecturers in the SoC use technology for improving throughput rates in an ODL institution. A mixed research methods approach was used, where quantitative data was extracted from the university systems and integrated with the qualitative data collected from interviews. Thirteen lecturers for the thirty modules under investigation were interviewed. A thematic analysis was used on the qualitative data, and quantitative data was analysed using rankings and correlation coefficients, leading to the interpretation that the use of myUnisa technology assisted to improve throughput on the modules. / Mathematics Education / M. Sc. (Computing Education)