The department of basic education on Monday rejected a World Economic Forum report about the state of the country’s maths and science education.<\/p>\n
“The report is not a credible or accurate reflection of the state of education in South Africa,” the department said in a statement.<\/p>\n
According to the WEF report, the quality of South Africa’s maths and science education placed it last out of 148 countries.<\/p>\n
“[We] reject this finding as it is based purely on the opinions or perceptions of selected executives,” the department said.<\/p>\n
According to the report under the “skills” sub-category, the quality of South Africa’s maths and science education comes in last place, behind the likes of Haiti, Lesotho, Chad, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, and Kenya.<\/p>\n
The quality of South Africa’s education puts it in 146th place.<\/p>\n
This is according to the “Global Information Technology Report 2014”. It uses a networked readiness index (NRI) to rank the state of countries’ information and communication technology.<\/p>\n
South Africa is placed 70th on the NRI, which is made up of 10 different sub-categories from which the overall NRI ranking is drawn.<\/p>\n
The department on Monday said the WEF report did not base its research on any actual tests or assessments done by pupils and the forum did not interact with pupils.<\/p>\n
“This perception index is based on interviews conducted with business sector executives and reflects nothing more than their personal perceptions.”<\/p>\n
South Africa stone last in maths and science list<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n