Despite South Africa’s low global ranking for the quality of its mathematics and science education, the results from the matric class of 2015 show that matters are getting worse.<\/p>\n
A 2015 report by The World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked South Africa last in the quality of mathematics and science education.<\/p>\n
South Africa also finished near last \u2013 139 out of 143 countries \u2013 when looking at the overall quality of its education system.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga announced that the matric pass rate of 70.7% in 2015 was down from 75.8% achieved in 2014.<\/p>\n
In it’s 2015 technical report, the Education Department pointed to a drop in results in science and mathematics-related subjects.<\/p>\n
Equal Education noted that the total number of matric candidates who\u00a0passed mathematics increased from 120,523 in 2014 to 129,481 in 2015.<\/p>\n
However, this reflected a 3-point decline in the percentage of those who wrote matric who passed mathematics.<\/p>\n
Similarly, there is also an increase in the number of matric candidates who passed science – from 103,348 in 2014 to 113,121 in 2015. This was a 2.5% decline in the pass percentage, EE said.<\/p>\n
799,306 pupils wrote matric exams in 2015 –\u00a0667,925 were full-time and\u00a0131,381 part-time. This is\u00a0the highest number of candidates ever to write matric exams in South Africa.<\/p>\n
The below table shows the percentage of matrics who achieved 30% and above in maths and science-related subjects between 2013- 2015:<\/p>\n
| Subject<\/th>\n | 2013<\/th>\n | 2014<\/th>\n | 2015<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accounting<\/td>\n | 65.7%<\/td>\n | 68%<\/td>\n | 59.6%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| \n Business Studies<\/div>\n<\/td>\n 81.9%<\/td>\n | 77.9%<\/td>\n | 75.7%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Economics<\/td>\n | 73.9%<\/td>\n | 68.9%<\/td>\n | 68.2%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Mathematical literacy<\/td>\n | 87.1%<\/td>\n | 84.1%<\/td>\n | 71.4%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Mathematics<\/td>\n | 59.1%<\/td>\n | 55.3%<\/td>\n | 49.1%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Physical Science<\/td>\n | 67.4%<\/td>\n | 61.5%<\/td>\n | 58.6%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n | The technical report showed that for mathematics, the percentage of pupils who achieved above 40% in 2015 was 31.9% – down from 35.1% in 2014.<\/p>\n For physical science, 36.1% of\u00a0the matric class of 2015\u00a0achieved above 40% – versus 36.9% in 2014.<\/p>\n Labour market economist Loane Sharp has warned in the past that universities were not producing enough engineers, doctors and scientists, as these degrees required a minimum of 60% for maths.<\/p>\n The education department’s report noted that the distinction percentage waned in key subjects in 2015.<\/p>\n \n
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