Failure by numbers? The problems maths literacy masks in SA schools

The Department of Basic Education’s recent rejection of renewed calls to scrap Mathematical Literacy has reignited a longstanding debate about whether the subject is serving learners and the country as intended.

The department maintains that mathematical literacy has a legitimate purpose and has placed reform, stronger mathematical foundations and meaningful access to different mathematical pathways at the centre of its response.

The deeper concern is that South Africa is preparing and supporting too few pupils to continue with mathematics. This is evident in the matric results, released earlier this year, which show that only 34% of the 2025 matric candidates wrote mathematics.

The department has also acknowledged that participation in this gateway subject is not growing fast enough to support access to further study, scarce skills and economic participation.

This low participation rate is an early warning of wider systemic and economic pressures. It points to deepening inequality and narrowing employment opportunities for young South Africans at a time when youth unemployment is already at crisis levels. The economic effects include a weakening pipeline of scarce and technical skills and growing constraints on the country’s productivity and technological capability.

A choice that can close doors

The stakes emerge early, with learners generally choosing between mathematics and mathematical literacy in Grade 9. This decision is often made before learners have identified a career. While mathematical literacy does not prevent pupils from pursuing successful careers or participating in the digital economy, its limitations become most apparent in quantitatively demanding areas such as artificial intelligence, advanced programming and analytics.

The effect of this decision becomes particularly clear when pupils apply to university. Mathematical literacy is accepted for numerous programmes, including in the humanities, law, communications, hospitality and some business-related fields. However, it generally does not meet the admission requirements for engineering, actuarial science, computer science, data science, medicine and certain other health sciences. Depending on the institution, it may also restrict access to architecture and some finance, economics and accounting programmes.

How free is the choice?

Enrolment in mathematical literacy does not always reflect a free and informed decision or a simple preference for the subject. By Grade 9, weak foundational numeracy, shortages of skilled mathematics teachers, overcrowded classrooms and limited academic support may already have placed mathematics beyond a pupil’s reach. Schools under pressure to protect their matric results may also encourage struggling pupils to move to mathematical literacy to limit the risk of failure.

A pupil’s choice may be further limited by the subjects available at school. This is evident in a Department of Basic Education report, which found that 482 schools across all nine provinces did not offer mathematics in 2024, with 462 offering only mathematical literacy. The pattern is particularly pronounced among small schools.

A national study found that 99% of very large schools offered mathematics, compared with 70% of small schools, many of which serve poorer and rural communities. For learners at these schools, mathematics may not be available at all. This lack of access reinforces educational inequality before these learners enter the post-school system.

Participation and performance

Taking mathematics is only the beginning. Not all pupils included in the 34% participation rate achieved the marks required for further study. Universities commonly require substantially higher results than the 30% needed to pass mathematics, particularly for programmes in science, technology, engineering, commerce and health sciences. The number able to enter these fields is consequently much smaller than the participation rate suggests.

The latest matric results reinforce the distinction between participation, passing and achievement at levels that support further study. South Africa recorded a matric pass rate of 88% in 2025, yet the official results announcement shows that the mathematics pass rate fell from 69% in 2024 to 64% in 2025. Accounting declined from 81% to 78%. Physical science improved marginally from 76% to 77%, although mathematics, physical science and accounting all recorded fewer distinctions than in 2024.

These results also raise questions about how educational progress is measured. The national pass rate is an important indicator, while participation in gateway subjects and achievement at levels that support tertiary study provide a fuller assessment of how well the system is preparing young people for life after school.

Mathematical literacy in context

Mathematical literacy serves a practical educational purpose by developing practical numerical capabilities such as budgeting, calculating costs, understanding interest, interpreting data and reading graphs. These skills are valuable in everyday life and in the workplace.

Concern arises when the subject becomes the default destination for pupils who have not received sufficient preparation or support to succeed in mathematics, or when it is selected without an understanding of the qualifications and careers it may exclude.

In these circumstances, enrolment can reflect broader weaknesses in the education system, including gaps in foundational numeracy, unequal access to skilled mathematics teaching and insufficient academic and career guidance.

The cost to the economy

A weak mathematics pipeline narrows the pool of pupils able to enter fields central to South Africa’s growth. The Department of Higher Education and Training has warned that growing enrolment in mathematical literacy, stagnant mathematics and accounting performance and limited growth in physical science are constraining the country’s post-school STEM pipeline.

As fewer pupils qualify for programmes requiring mathematics, the national skills base weakens, restricting industrialisation, innovation and economic growth.

These skills shortages exist alongside severe youth unemployment. South Africa’s official Critical Skills List includes quantitatively demanding occupations such as actuaries, data scientists, software developers and civil, mechanical and chemical engineers. When the domestic pipeline cannot meet demand, employers may recruit internationally through mechanisms such as the Critical Skills Visa regime.

While international expertise makes a valuable contribution to the economy, weakness in the domestic mathematics pipeline is one of the factors contributing to South Africa’s continued reliance on international recruitment. This is especially concerning in a country with millions of young people, too few of whom have been given the mathematical foundation needed to qualify for many of the jobs its economy most needs to fill.

 Keeping mathematical literacy requires reform

The subject remains defensible as part of a wider plan that gives more pupils a genuine opportunity to succeed in mathematics. This requires better-equipped mathematics teachers throughout a pupil’s schooling so that difficulties can be identified and addressed early. Pupils also need informed guidance before subject choices are made.

Pressure on schools to protect their pass rates requires urgent attention to prevent potentially capable pupils from being directed into mathematical literacy as a solution to the appearance of a higher pass rate.

Educational progress should be measured through mathematics participation and meaningful achievement in gateway subjects alongside the national matric pass rate. The policy challenge is to ensure that mathematical literacy remains a purposeful choice for pupils rather than a means of masking the system’s failure to give more pupils a realistic opportunity to succeed in mathematics. DM