Assessing the Effects of Cohabitation in Two Selected Higher Learning Institutions in Mthatha

Description

Page: 09-16

Ntando Yamkela, Ndamase Maxhobandile, Zwakala Lona, Ngwandla Sinelizwi, and Cele Sibahle (Department of Public Management, Faculty of Management and Public Administration Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa)

The issue of cohabitation has long affected institutions of higher learning and training in South Africa, in terms of the academic performance of students. Lack of funding and university experience has been identified as the main cause of the cohabitation crisis in institutions of higher learning. The intention of this study is to investigate the impact of cohabitation on tertiary students. To cover the objectives of the study, the paper reviewed literature extensively, to bring about information that has been found about the issue of cohabitation in institutions of higher learning. Cohabitation seems to be perpetuated by a lack of parental supervision in institutions of higher learning. Qualitative research methodology was employed in this paper to have an in-depth understanding of the experiences of students who have experienced cohabitation. Convenient sampling technique was adopted in the paper in order to select the relevant sample of 20 participants which were identified for the purpose of this study. Unstructured interviews were conducted to get the experiences of the participants, and a thematic analysis technique was adopted in the paper to analyse the collected data. The study found that indeed lack of parental supervision perpetuated cohabitation in institutions of higher learning. In conclusion, this study revealed that there are various factors that lead to student cohabitation, and these have different implications for the academic performance of students.