Challenges in accessing higher education: A case study of marginalised young people in one South African informal settlement

Statistics show that student enrolment in higher education institutions in South Africa has dramatically increased over the past years, a clear indication that higher education (HE) is addressing issues of equitable access in the wake of an exclusionary apartheid past. Despite these positive trends, there are still marginalised groups in society about whom we know little, and who risk being overlooked both in access statistics and at the level of actual lives. The article therefore outlines the aspirations and challenges for vulnerable young people in accessing higher education, based on a case study conducted at Orange Farm informal settlement in South Africa. A qualitative approach, using Sen, 2009, Sen, 1999a and Nussbaum's (2011) capabilities approach (CA) was adopted as the conceptual frame for the light it casts on real lives, opportunities and plural achievements, with empirical data collected through face-to-face interviews with purposively selected young people living in an Orange Farm orphanage.