{"id":822829,"date":"2025-05-02T10:20:57","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T08:20:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=822829"},"modified":"2025-05-02T10:20:57","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T08:20:57","slug":"hundreds-of-south-african-schools-dont-offer-mathematics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/822829\/hundreds-of-south-african-schools-dont-offer-mathematics\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds of South African schools don’t offer Mathematics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South Africa\u2019s Department of Basic Education (DBE) has revealed that 464 public schools do not offer Mathematics to their learners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

135 of the schools that don\u2019t offer Mathematics are in KwaZulu-Natal, 84 are in the Eastern Cape, 78 are in Limpopo, and 61 are in the Western Cape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other provinces fare better. Gauteng and the North West have 31 schools each, the Northern Cape 19, Free State 14, and Mpumalanga 11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Department of Basic Education explained that learners must select subject streams in Grade 10 that align with their interests and prospective career paths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile Mathematics remains a high-priority subject, schools may not have sufficient resources or demand to offer both Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, some schools face challenges such as limited enrolment in the Mathematics stream, making it unviable to run a full class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is also a shortage of qualified Mathematics teachers, and budgetary or timetabling constraints limit subject offerings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The department said it actively promotes the offering of Mathematics in all schools and has launched interventions to achieve this goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has monthly Mathematics meetings with all provincial education departments to share best practices, address challenges, and promote increased enrolment in Mathematics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schools and learners are also consistently encouraged to choose Mathematics over Mathematical Literacy where appropriate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cProvinces are also supported in strengthening teacher capacity and learner performance in Mathematics,\u201d the department said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is ongoing professional development, including a focus on methodology, with the aim of enhancing learner understanding and retention in Mathematics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Minister of Basic Education, together with the DBE, is committed to improving learner participation and performance in Mathematics,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSeveral strategic interventions have been implemented, many of which align with the findings from recent global and regional assessments, including TIMSS, SEACMEQ V, and SASE.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa\u2019s poor Mathematics performance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The number of matric learners in South Africa opting to take mathematics has steadily declined from 46% in 2011 to 34% in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, the numbers continued to decline, with only 255,762 learners registered for mathematics, compared to 268,100 in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only a small percentage of those who choose the subject achieve the necessary 60% pass to pursue university programmes in accounting, actuarial science, and engineering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube blamed South Africa\u2019s education system for the decline in the number of matriculants taking mathematics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gwarube said the decline in Mathematics threatens South Africa\u2019s ability to advance in science, innovation, and economic development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She pointed to foundational deficits accumulating over time, limiting students\u2019 abilities to succeed in higher grades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She pointed to international studies, like the 2023 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study revealed that South African learners finished last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is the largest pool of trend data from any international large-scale assessment in education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the assessment was on learners in the fourth and eighth grades, South Africa sent students in their fifth and ninth grades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The official reason is that local grade five and nine learners \u201cbetter match curricula and maintain trend measurement\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the reality is that South African learners are so poor that the international exams are much too difficult for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To compensate for our poor learners and education system, South Africa assessed learners who had one more year of education to try to match their global counterparts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

59 countries participated in TIMSS 2023 in the fourth grade. Despite assessing older and more experienced learners, South Africa finished last<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Africa\u2019s Department of Basic Education has revealed that 464 public schools do not offer Mathematics to their learners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":812806,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[22434,22433,21187],"class_list":["post-822829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-basic-education-minister-siviwe-gwarube","tag-department-of-basic-education-dbe","tag-mathematics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=822829"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":822900,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822829\/revisions\/822900"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/812806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=822829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=822829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=822829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}