Four critical causes of underachievement in township secondary schools

Abstract

Underachievement is a problem that can affect every learner and no education institution is immune to it. Potential does not guarantee performance, therefore a student possessing the potential to achieve well in school must still work hard, otherwise s/he will not achieve according to that potential. This article examines four critical determinants of underachievement among township secondary school learners: media of instruction, overcrowding, truancy and shortages of textbooks. The study has found these factors to have a telling negative influence on learners’ performance, which must be countered.