As youth unemployment hits new highs and basic literacy falters, JumpStart Foundation's dual-intervention model turns unemployed school-leavers into an educational lifeline.
For many young South Africans, the months after matriculation are marked less by celebration than by uncertainty: waiting for work, for study or for a clear next step.
According to Statistics South Africa's latest quarterly labor force survey, the country's youth unemployment crisis continues to deteriorateThe unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 24 has increased to 60.9%. Additionally, 45.6% of youth aged 15 to 34 in the country are currently classified as NEET (not in employment, education or training), leaving almost half of SA's youth locked out of both the economy and the classroom.
JumpStart FoundationA nonprofit organization that works at the intersection of early grade mathematics education and youth employment, it believes there is no need to look outside the school doors for solutions. Instead, the response to youth unemployment can be found inside the elementary school classroom, through JumpStart's Teacher Assistant Program.
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Double crisis requires double solution
Lufuno Muthubi-Mthethwa, executive director of the JumpStart Foundation, said South Africa's systemic struggle with mathematics is a concern, with international assessments consistently ranking the country's learners at the bottom of global benchmarks. To fix these basic numerical gaps…