GOVERNMENT MUST DEAL PROACTIVELY & IMMEDIATELY WITH THE MATHS CRISIS IN OUR SCHOOLS
An education without mathematics is generally an education without career or jobs prospects. South Africa needs engineers, actuaries, accountants, architects, scientists, doctors and mathematicians. For the country to meet these demands, learners must take mathematics and do well at it. This, unfortunately, is not happening on any worthwhile scale.
Once again, the Global Competitiveness Index, released by the World Economic Forum, ranked South Africa at the bottom of the heap. Basic Education spokesman Elijah Mhlanga, however, rubbished the basis for this low ranking. Furthermore, he sees this exercise as an attack on South Africa. How that is so, only he knows. South Africa, in our view, should rather attack the failures in the system than the compilers of the index. We certainly have huge and perennial problems seriously impeding mathematics education in our country. We would therefore do infinitely better if we accepted that our learners' performance in mathematics is indeed shocking and addressed that situation.
For many years, researchers such as Van der Walt, Maree and Ellis (2008:490), amongst many others have continued to point out that the majority of learners in South Africa have a “parlous" understanding of mathematics. This is understandable as many teachers are ill equipped to teach mathematics. Additionally, learners lack the necessary vocabulary of mathematics and the skills to conceptualise at the abstract level. These are the things we need to correct in a great hurry. If the will exists, the solutions are certainly at hand.
Each year, after the grade 12 examinations, Umalusi shows a regression in mathematics and science. We have had this crisis for ever and for ever and from 1994 we achieved very little success in reversing the apartheid intent of stymieing black learners from taking mathematics.
Consequently, students who take mathematics at university are under prepared for tertiary level studies. This is a problem for the students, for the universities and for our economy.
COPE believes that the Department must do more to modernise teaching practices and to improve the content knowledge of educators.
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga revealed two years ago that that at least one in four schools did not offer mathematics for Grades 10 to 12. In Mpumalanga, 56.3% of schools did not offer the subject. One of the reasons for this shocking state of affairs is the pressure on schools to produce grade 12 passes regardless of the subjects taken. Schools therefore cut out mathematics and offer maths literacy to boost their results. The country should not look at overall pass rates in grade 12 but rather at the pass rates for main language, mathematics and science.
By ignoring mathematics and science results in favour of "matric" passes, we are shooting ourselves in both feet.
COPE urges the government to double the time for mathematics and main language in our schools.
Government should also allow predetermined tax write-offs for individuals and businesses who on their own or in partnership with government establish language and mathematics institutes all around the country. Having such specialist centres where teachers use innovative methods will support both teachers and learners. Such centres can lead in curriculum development for main language, science as well as for mathematics.
We have a major crisis and we need to do things very differently to overcome it. It is better for government to be proactive rather than defensive. Through that stubborn defensiveness government will only succeed in marring and blighting the future of the majority of our learners. Furthermore, it will continue to stifle our economy because of a lack of essential skills.
Issued by Dennis Bloem, Cope Spokesperson, 6 October 2015
