The conundrum of community colleges in the Northern Province

D. Ed.South Africa, a newly democratised country, is confronted with the mammoth task of transformation and reconstruction. The new government and the Department of Education, in particular, have inherited problems of illiteracy, unskilled adults and youth, poverty, unemployment, lack of access to viable education and training from the previous regime. To address this situation, a community college system, similar to that of the United States (US), was proposed. Attempts were consequently made to establish community colleges in SA. The community colleges, in the Northern Province, however, appeared not to be functioning effectively. It is against this background and the fact that the concept of, community college had not been fully investigated within the field of education in South Africa, in general, and the Northern Province, in particular, that this study was conducted. The main research question that guided this study was the following: What is the state of affairs at the community colleges in the Northern Province? The ancillary questions were as follows: What was the purpose of establishing community colleges in the Northern Province? To what extent do community colleges in the Northern Province realise the purpose for which they have been established? The aim of this study was thus to explore the state of affairs at community colleges in the Northern Province. A literature review, which provides a theoretical background for the empirical research, was conducted. The literature study focused on the nature and purpose of community colleges internationally with special reference to the community college system in South Africa