Browsing by Author "Mseleku, Zethembe."

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Aspirations for higher education : evidence from youth living in Kenneth Gardens municipal housing estate (Durban)
(2015) Mseleku, Zethembe.; Ballard, Richard James.; Diga, Kathleen.
Inadequate and unequal access to higher education has been identified as a major development issue internationally. This issue has received practical attention from different stakeholders in an attempt to increase youth participation and to promote equal access to higher education. However, it has been recognised that such attention was not adequate to ensure access to higher education for the majority of deserving youth. Similarly, in South Africa, limited access to higher education for the majority of youth remains a major development problem. This study was conducted at Kenneth Gardens which is the municipal housing estate in Durban KwaZulu-Natal. Most youth at Kenneth Gardens lack higher education. As a result, higher education is one of the possible aspects making youth vulnerable to non-participation in the economy. It thereby remains critical that the public, private and civil society sectors cooperate to develop appropriate strategies to improve youth access and participation in higher education. The enhancement of competences and skills for young individuals can contribute to development. There are many practical barriers that hinder youth to participate in higher education. This study goes beyond looking at these practical obstacles which hinder youth from accessing higher education. More specifically, the study explores the lesser known factor of “lack of aspirations” for higher education. This study demonstrates that although it is important to address practical barriers such as providing funding for higher education, increasing the number of tertiary education institutions, strengthening the capacity of primary and secondary education to prepare learners for higher education, increasing youth aspirations for higher education is very critical for youth to access higher education. The major finding from this study is that lack of aspirations is one of the major obstacles that hinder youth from accessing higher education. Aspiration for higher education is one of the main drivers for youth to become motivated to access higher education. This suggests the need to implement effective programmes that aim at increasing youth aspirations for higher education.
Indigenous knowledge and participatory rural development in Mabheleni, Umzumbe Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
(2023) Mseleku, Zethembe.; Narsiah, Inbersagran.
This study aimed to explore the contribution of indigenous knowledge to participatory rural development in Mabheleni, a rural community in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Drawing from the lenses of deliberative democracy, the study explored the role of indigenous knowledge in participatory rural development in Mabheleni; identified the challenges impeding the use of indigenous knowledge to stimulate rural development in Mabheleni; identified the opportunities for effective use of indigenous knowledge to promote rural development in Mabheleni and, explored the strategies used by people living in Mabheleni to preserve their indigenous knowledge. Semi-structured interviews and a focus group discussion were conducted with 20 participants in Mabheleni. All participants were selected through a purposive sampling technique and data was analyzed through thematic analysis. The results indicate that although indigenous knowledge is deemed crucial for the development in Mabheleni, it is not effectively used in rural development initiatives. While local people in Mabheleni use their indigenous knowledge to sustain their livelihoods at a household level, their indigenous knowledge is overlooked in rural development initiatives. This problem is attributed to two main reasons: first, Western scientific knowledge is given priority in informing rural development in Mabheleni. Second, government officials often use a top-down approach in decision making about rural development initiatives in Mabheleni, a practice which excludes indigenous people in their development. Thus, the role of indigenous knowledge in rural development in Mabheleni remains unclear and minimal.