Lethu’s Case Study: Lethu is a 9-year-old female Grade 3 learner at a Quartile 1 school in rural KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Province. She was previously a learner enrolled in a former Model C school in the Gauteng Province. In July 2022, Lethu’s biological mother demised after a long illness. Her father works as an IT Specialist in one of the leading network companies in the country. His job involves long hours and a lot of travelling outside of Johannesburg, leaving Lethu and her siblings with the helper. Lethu is the oldest amongst 3 children from her parents’ union. Her father requested that Lethu and her siblings move to KZN Iso that their paternal grandmother can take care of them. She has twin brothers aged 4 years. Her paternal grandparents are in the middle-class economy, they reside in a brick house with amenities such as electricity and running water, access to WIFI, DSTV, and have their own car. Lethu shares her bedroom with her twin brothers. However, the area that her paternal grandparents reside in does not have any schools similar to the one that Lethu was attending in Gauteng. In her current school, isiZulu is the medium of learning and communication. Lethu was an average student and was attending Kumon to help her in the subjects that she was having challenges with. Recently, her grandmother, who is a retired teacher herself has asked her father to take her to an educational psychologist for an assessment as she has noticed a drastic decline in Lethus’ performance.

Lethu’s Case Study: Lethu is a 9-year-old female Grade 3 learner at a Quartile 1 school in rural KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Province. She was previously a learner enrolled in a former Model C school in the Gauteng Province. In July 2022, Lethu’s biological mother demised after a long illness. Her father works as an IT Specialist in one of the leading network companies in the country. His job involves long hours and a lot of travelling outside of Johannesburg, leaving Lethu and her siblings with the helper. Lethu is the oldest amongst 3 children from her parents’ union. Her father requested that Lethu and her siblings move to KZN Iso that their paternal grandmother can take care of them. She has twin brothers aged 4 years. Her paternal grandparents are in the middle-class economy, they reside in a brick house with amenities such as electricity and running water, access to WIFI, DSTV, and have their own car. Lethu shares her bedroom with her twin brothers. However, the area that her paternal grandparents reside in does not have any schools similar to the one that Lethu was attending in Gauteng. In her current school, isiZulu is the medium of learning and communication. Lethu was an average student and was attending Kumon to help her in the subjects that she was having challenges with. Recently, her grandmother, who is a retired teacher herself has asked her father to take her to an educational psychologist for an assessment as she has noticed a drastic decline in Lethus’ performance.