Assessing the performance of school governing bodies of selected farm schools in the Limpopo Province

Abstract

This research was conducted in the Waterberg District with particular focus on the Nylstroom Circuit. The primary aim of this research was to assess the performance of farm school governing bodies in the Limpopo Province. The farm schools that were selected for this purpose were in the Nylstroom Circuit since it had a number of farm schools. The school governing body members such as the chairpersons, the principals and educators in the governing bodies of those farm schools participated in this study. The primary data collection method used in this research was semi-structured interviews. Participant observations were carried out on the sites before the interviews were conducted. Documents were analysed at the randomly selected schools. This research revealed that many farm school governing bodies cannot perform their duties because of various challenges such as poverty, illiteracy, lack of time off from work and the long distances that have to be travelled to meetings. In order for these farm schools to overcome these challenges, this research made a number of recommendations, based on the conclusions reached.