: poorer communities often struggle to access fast, reliable and affordable internet.
We found that due to poverty, lack of access to resources, limited access to internet and suitable devices, and the We want to apply for universities, but we do not have enough airtime or data in our phones for the application.It wasn’t all doom and gloom. There were some rays of light in young women’s stories. Some participants showed educational resilience, and a determination to achieve their educational goals. Some girls spoke of how they had found ways to cope, and with resourcefulness and creativity, had remained motivated and focused. This helped them to reduce disruptions to their education.
Some respondents described receiving assistance with studying from other people at home, such as parents or partners. South African educational institutions, public and private sector stakeholders and civil society organisations need to work together to develop inter-sectoral strategies to ensure a smooth transition to online learning.
Free learning resources and materials need to be made available on a variety of devices, operating systems and software applications. These need to be optimised for restricted bandwidth and unreliable internet access.