Exploring the Causes of Student Attrition in South African TVET Colleges: A Case of One KwaZulu-Natal Technical and Vocational Education and Training College

The Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges are the cornerstone in addressing unemployment, poverty and building the economy of the Republic of South Africa by producing well-equipped artisans. TVET Colleges are expected to enrol 2.5 million students by 2030 (Branson et al. in S Afr Child Gauge 1:1–8, 2015). To achieve this, the TVET Colleges should have a sound throughput at the end of each academic cycle. However, the main challenge faced by the TVET Colleges and the Department of Higher Education and Training at large is high levels of student attrition which impede the TVET Colleges from achieving their goals. This study sought to ascertain the nature of and the reasons behind this high attrition rate. The acquisition of this knowledge should be an essential step in addressing the problem. Drawing on a mixed-methods approach, this study conducted interviews (N = 20) and questionnaire surveys (N = 100) with purposively selected staff and students at one TVET College in KwaZulu-Natal Province. The findings show that attrition is high and uniform across the programmes and campuses. Factors behind the high attrition rate at the TVET Colleges include dissatisfaction with the programs offered, inadequate student induction and inadequate student work placement. This study concluded that the causes of student attrition are multidimensional and multi-sourced. A multi-pronged strategy implemented by responsible stakeholders is required to solve this problem.