Durban - Maths has been described as a “gateway” subject - a subjects that are considered critical for the country’s economic growth and development.
According to Mike Lefkowitz of the Mind Research Institute a country's youth must be educated in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in order to be competitive in the 21st century global economy.
"Studying mathematics not only will develop more engineers and scientists, but also produce more citizens who can learn and think creatively and critically, no matter their career fields. The workforce of tomorrow, in all fields, will demand it," he said.
But Suellen Shay a Professor of Higher Education in the Centre for Higher Education Development (CHED) at the University of Cape Town has sounded the alarm bells over South Africa's decline in maths which she says runs contrary to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Here are the numbers Professor Shay says we should be concerned about:
- The number of pupils writing maths has dropped from 270 516 in 2018 to 222 034 last year.
- Only 54% passed maths, down from 58% in 2018.
- The minimum score for a pass is 30%.
- This means only 54% achieved a mark of at least 30% and only 2% (4415) achieved distinctions.
- A distinction is a score of 80% to 100%.
- This is down from 2.5% in 2018.
Shay says that the drop in the number of pupils writing the exam should be of great concern as performance in maths matters for university entrance.
"Without it, school-leavers are not eligible for programmes in science or engineering or some in commerce. This will increase inequality. The deterioration in performance is also of great concern. Getting a pass (30%) may secure a diploma or university entrance, but low pass marks will not prepare them to succeed at mathematics at university level. The development runs contrary to the needs of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Strong performance in mathematics is essential for careers in computing, programming, finance and machine learning".