Science and maths education is progressively improving in South Africa, Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
“To say we are at the bottom of a whole host of countries, based on perception, is a bit of a difficult one for me,” she told reporters in Pretoria.<\/p>\n
“The WEF report was based on perceptions, it wasn’t a test of our learners.”<\/p>\n
Pandor was reacting to a World Economic Forum report about the state of the country’s maths and science education.<\/p>\n
“Thank goodness we have some good journalists in South Africa who spotted that the report was based on perception,” she said.<\/p>\n
In terms of the Timms survey (Trends in International Maths and Science Study), South Africa had seen some improvement.<\/p>\n
The country continued to invest in improving its performance in maths and science, Pandor said.<\/p>\n
“I was a bit disappointed that the WEF almost presented this [report] as if South African children had been tested in maths.”<\/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
It was behind the likes of Haiti, Lesotho, Chad, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, and Kenya.<\/p>\n
SA government rejects global maths ranking<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n South Africa stone last in maths and science list<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n