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Poverty continues to pose a significant challenge to educational development, particularly in the early years of a child’s life. Teachers, as primary facilitators of learning, are uniquely positioned to observe how socioeconomic conditions influence children’s cognitive, emotional, and social development. Hence, the current study explored teachers’ perceptions on the effects of poverty on early childhood learning at a selected village in Limpopo Province. The study used a qualitative exploratory research design. A sample of 12 participants was selected through purposive sampling. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews using an interview guide and analyzed through thematic content analysis. The findings revealed that poverty affects learners’ academic performance in the classroom, including poor participation in classroom activities, poor scholastic performance, poor attendance, and dropping out of school. The results further revealed that children are affected psychologically due to bullying, being labeled poor, and stress. The findings of this study show that poverty has a profound and multidimensional impact on learners’ academic and psychological well-being. Therefore, the government, schools, parents, and the community can help reduce the negative effects of poverty on learning by collaborative efforts.

Orphanhood remains a significant and multifaceted challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, where children under the age of eighteen who have lost one or both parents are often exposed to heightened risks related to inadequate education, psychosocial support, nutrition, shelter, and care. South Africa is among the most affected countries, with orphanhood compounded by poverty, inequality, disease, substance abuse, and domestic violence. Although various governmental and non-governmental interventions exist, many are limited by poor sustainability, weak contextual relevance, and insufficient community ownership. Moreover, orphaned learners are frequently positioned as passive recipients of support rather than empowered contributors to their own development. This scoping review protocol aims to map and synthesise existing evidence on mentorship and life-coaching interventions to inform future framework development designed to enhance educational achievements and life goals of orphaned secondary school learners in Klipgat. Guided by the Arksey and O’Malley framework, the review protocol will involve identifying the research question, relevant studies, study selection, data charting, and the collation and summarisation of findings, with stakeholder consultation included where appropriate. A comprehensive search of studies published between 2010 and 2025 will be conducted on PubMed, Web of Science, Grey Literature, Scopus, and Grey literature. The review process will adhere to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) protocol guidelines.

Poverty is one of the most unrelenting issues in the world, as in most cases, it tends to recycle over the generations by means of lack of access to quality education, lack of economic opportunities and even the social inequalities that tend to be embedded in the society. This paper discusses the importance of education as a transformational process that can break the intergenerational poverty cycle and alleviate socio-economic statuses of families. The research paper relies on the international and South African literature on the connection between educational access, quality, and relevance and the life paths, employability, and well-being of learners. It brings out the diverse channels whereby education leads to upward social mobility that include acquisition of skills, human capital, greater earning power, better health literacy, and better civic engagement. In addition, the study examines structural constraints that prevent low-income families to fully gain the benefits of educational opportunities, such as insufficient school resources, socio-economic factors, gaps in the policies and implementing them, and institutional inequities. Through the socio-ecological lens, the discussion shows that education has the greatest potential to bring families out of poverty with the help of inclusive policies, specific social support programmes, and community-based interventions. The study concludes that education is a source of sustainable development, economic empowerment, and social transformation although not alone, but when incorporated in the comprehensive anti-poverty strategies, it can help eradicate poverty.  

This study explores the role and impact of school feeding scheme programmes on learner well-being and academic performance in Limpopo Province, South Africa, using a qualitative research approach. School feeding schemes are essential interventions aimed at alleviating food insecurity and supporting educational development among socio-economically disadvantaged learners. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with learners, educators, parents, and school administrators. This approach provided a rich understanding of lived experiences and perceptions regarding the feeding programmes. The findings reveal that regular school meals enhance learners’ concentration, motivation, and emotional well-being, which in turn positively influence their participation and engagement in the classroom. Participants also highlighted how the programme fosters a sense of stability and routine for vulnerable children. However, concerns were raised about irregular food deliveries, inadequate infrastructure, and limited variety in meal content, which often hinder the programme's overall effectiveness. The study concludes that school feeding initiatives play a crucial role in learner support, but their success depends on consistent implementation, community involvement, and improved management practices. These findings provide practical insights for policymakers and education authorities to improve the management, consistency, and nutritional quality of school feeding programmes in rural contexts.

Despite significant initiatives to enhance educational access for marginalised communities in Africa, the prevalence of street children not enrolled in school remains substantial. Despite several studies examining educational access disparities among marginalised groups, obstacles to governmental initiatives aimed at enhancing educational opportunities for street children in Africa remain insufficiently investigated. This study elucidates these constraints, concentrating on Mutare Urban, Zimbabwe.  It examined the obstacles to governmental initiatives aimed at enhancing educational access for street children in Mutare Urban, Zimbabwe. The study employed a human rights-based approach as its theoretical framework to answer this subject. The research employed a qualitative methodology, utilising interviews, focus group discussions, and documentary analysis for data collection. These methodologies enabled the researchers to comprehend the subjective, lived experiences and perspectives of participants on obstacles to governmental initiatives aimed at enhancing educational access for street children in Mutare Urban. The study identified social disintegration, economic limits, insufficient teamwork, and corruption and nepotism as primary obstacles to governmental initiatives aimed at enhancing educational access for street children in Mutare Urban. The report advises enhanced funding, collaboration, monitoring, and evaluation of government programs, as well as a case-by-case approach to facilitate access to school for street children in response to the identified problems.

The Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, introduced as an emergency measure during the COVID-19 pandemic, has become a critical support mechanism for millions of South Africans. Although initially implemented to address the immediate economic fallout of the pandemic, the grant has persisted beyond the crisis, evolving into an essential component of the country’s social protection landscape. Its discontinuation at this stage would have devastating consequences, particularly for the large population of unemployed youth in townships who rely on the grant for basic survival, including securing a daily meal. Unlike other targeted grants such as those supporting children, the elderly, or students, the SRD grant is uniquely positioned to address the needs of working-age individuals excluded from formal employment and other social programs. In a context where South Africa’s apartheid legacy continues to shape patterns of poverty, marginalisation, and inequality, the SRD grant serves not only as a poverty alleviation tool but also as a vehicle for redress and inclusion. This paper advocates for institutionalising the SRD grant by transforming it into a permanent Basic Relief Income (BRI) program, designed as a near-universal income support for working-age adults with low or no income. The BRI is envisioned as a sustainable and inclusive safety net that recognises the socio-historical context of dispossession and responds to the structural exclusion faced by millions. By framing income support as both a developmental and restorative intervention, the proposed BRI model can play a vital role in promoting economic participation, social cohesion, and long-term national stability.

Poverty persists in many countries especially those in the sub-Saharan African region where the levels have been getting worse. The extent of poverty has been worsened in the last 5 years by the many exogenous factors that have gone beyond the control of individual countries. From Covid-19 in late 2019 to early 2020 going all the way to 2021, to Ukraine Russia war that disrupted global supply chains, to the war between Israel and Hamas that have left countries divided. Several countries have also witnessed natural disasters like cyclones and heavy rains and tidal waves that have caused irreparable damage to livelihoods.  In the wake of these external factors over and above country specific a number of governments introduced social grants as safety nets to help households in danger of abject poverty. This study assesses the dynamics of poverty within social grant-dependent households in South Africa, exploring the extent to which social grants mitigate poverty across varying levels of deprivation. Using 2023 data from a representative national survey, the analysis applies conditional probability models to examine the influence of social grants on household poverty risk, considering three distinct poverty thresholds: the Food Poverty Line, the Lower Bound Poverty Line, and the Upper Bound Poverty Line. Findings reveal that households receiving grants experience a statistically significant reduction in poverty risk, particularly at the lower poverty levels, underscoring the effectiveness of grants as a targeted poverty alleviation tool. However, unemployment, single-headed households, and racial disparities are found to compound poverty risk, pointing to the need for an integrated approach that combines social grants with employment and empowerment programs. Female-headed households are especially vulnerable, showing a higher likelihood of poverty across all poverty lines, likely due to factors such as lower income and greater caregiving responsibilities. The study concludes that while social grants play a critical role in reducing poverty risk, additional measures are essential for addressing the underlying socioeconomic disparities that affect poverty dynamics. Recommendations include increasing grant values to match inflation, expanding job creation efforts, and implementing targeted support programs for the most vulnerable demographics, particularly single-parent and female-headed households. These measures would enhance the efficacy of social grants and support long-term poverty reduction efforts in South Africa.  

Globally, there were 5 million COVID-19 deaths between March 2020 and October 2021, and approximately 5·2 million children lost a parent or caregiver because of COVID-19-related deaths. This has left so many orphaned children that had to navigate life without parental supervision. This paper aims to demonstrate the adverse social effects of covid-19 in the lives of children in child-headed families in a small village called Mavalani in Limpopo province, South Africa. We employed a qualitative study utilizing an explorative research design to get deeper knowledge of the adverse effects of Covid-19 on child-headed families in Mavalani village. Purposive sampling, which is a non-probability sampling technique was used to purposefully select the participants that are suitable for the research study. A sample size of 10 teenagers aged 13-17 years old were randomly selected within the population of child-headed families in Mavalani village. Thematic data analysis was utilized to analyse the adverse social effects experienced by child-headed families because of covid-19 parental death. Main findings of the study demonstrate that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on family dynamics, resulting in the loss of parents and leaving children to care for their siblings in child-headed households. These children often face discrimination and social isolation due to the stigma associated with being a part of a child-headed family, leading to feelings of anxiety when interacting with their peers. Taking on the responsibilities of a parent at a young age has also had a significant impact on their childhood experiences and overall well-being.

The purpose of the study was to explore challenges experienced by school mangers in their role to implement the national school nutrition programme in schools of the Harry Gwala District, in KwaZulu-Natal. This article is extracted from a Ph.D. thesis in which a qualitative research design was used with sample of school managers who participate in the school nutrition programme. Data was gathered through individual interviews and document analysis. The findings indicated that school managers experienced challenges in the implementation of the programme such as compliance of Service Providers with delivery regulation, delayed payments of Service Providers, insufficient and poor food stuff supplied by Service Providers. However, on the other hand, nutrition programme benefited learners from poor background, reduced learner absenteeism and increased school enrolment. This posed a challenge to school managers as indicated in Maslow’s theory in the hierarchy of needs that provision should be made for meals at schools if they do not receive an adequate nutrition at home. On the basis of the findings, the following challenges were faced by school management: poor infrastructural development, insufficient time allocated to feeding, communication breakdown between NSNP educators and Service Providers, none payment of Service Providers on time.

The purpose of this study is to accomplish three things: (1) to determine the manner in which child labor is exploited; (2) to identify the ecological elements (push and pull) that contribute to the exploitation of child labor; and (3) to determine the challenges that are associated with the management of child labor. It is possible for adults to exploit children through the use of child labor in a number of vocations, including those in the agricultural industry, the garment industry, manufacturing, mining, service industries, and the informal sector. Children's employment is influenced by a number of environmental factors, such as poverty, a dearth of educational possibilities, and a lack of awareness regarding the rights of children. The study discusses a number of elements that operate as pushes and pulles, as well as barriers, that could be encountered when attempting to address the problem of child labor.