BONUS - RUSTENBURG - South Africa has an extremely high school dropout rate, with over 41% of learners who enter Grade 1 dropping out before they complete their schooling.
Many factors contribute to the high dropout rate, but the most common theme is a lack of resources. These resources can be educational materials like books and stationery, school uniforms and transport. However, for too many children, the situation extends to a lack of nutritious food, a shortage of qualified teachers and safe spaces for learning.
BIC stationery has teamed up with Zero Dropout to raise awareness about the issues that contribute to the problem and encourage South Africans to get involved in helping to stem the tide of school dropouts.
Zero Dropout demonstrates what it takes to help learners complete Grade 12, using data to reduce dropout, highlighting the importance of school culture in pushing learners away from school and testing strategies to prevent dropout.
As mentioned, access to adequate resources are an important factor in keeping learners in school. This is why BIC contributes to many schools, learners and teachers in need nationwide and has indeed donated 16 million pens since 2012 through the Buy a Pen Donate a Pen initiative.
BIC reaches out to thousands of learners of all ages, including Grade 3s who get their pen license and matric learners preparing to sit their crucial final exams. This is to ensure they have an essential resource to complete their exams. To add a "personal touch" each pen donation comes with an encouraging message to motivate seniors ahead of their final exams.
One moment, one action, can change a child’s life forever.
Members of the public can support this cause by purchasing specially marked BIC products at designated retailers (such as Pick n Pay, Checkers, Spar and TakeAlot) and making it possible for BIC to provide crucial resources to children across the country.
