Abstract
Being rich in mineral resources is a valuable tool that can be used to promote economic growth and encourage the development of public facilities, such as the construction of schools, libraries, hospitals, etc. As a result, mining sector has historically been very important to the South African economy, offering a vast mineral wealth with immense value generation. However, this industry has been associated with negative impacts on the environment, health and academic performance of local communities living close to mining operation sites. The aim of this study was to investigate potential impacts of mining activities on learners’ health and academic performance in South African schools. To this end, three sets of data were collected: (i) data on the number of learners suffering from particular diseases per province over six years (2011-2016); (ii) data on learner-educator ratios in the ordinary public and independent school sector for the 2000-2016 period; (iii) data on the number of operating mines as well as the number of mineral types in each province. This was done through online government departments’ websites such as the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE). The initial expectation was that, although mining contributes considerably to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country, mining activities would result in negative impacts on health conditions and pass rate of learners and these effects would be contingent upon their gender and geographic origins (South African provinces). The results support the expectation regarding the impacts of mining activities on health conditions and academic performance but these impacts do correlate with gender, the number of mines and mineral types extracted...
M.Sc. (Environmental Management)