A group of concerned maths teachers has accused the government of watering down 2008's matric maths papers to inflate the pass rate in a core subject in the new curriculum.
The teachers also criticised the education department's "one-size-fits-all" approach towards mathematics, which experts warn could have dire consequences for the country as students struggle in highly technical fields.
Despite the low aptitude in numeracy, 63 038 of South Africa's matric pupils - 21,2 percent of eligible candidates - scored more than a 50 percent pass in maths, a percentage considered high, and which raised eyebrows in some education circles.
The Concerned Mathematics Educators (CME), a collective of 90 mathematics teachers countrywide, on Saturday criticised the current mathematics curriculum, which it described as "watered-down" and "unchallenged" for competent pupils.
"The mathematics targets achieved by the education department should not be misconstrued as indicators of any real improvement in mathematics education in South Africa," said CME coordinator Aslam Mukadam.
The CME said although the department had met its mathematics targets in eight of the nine provinces, it questioned the benefit this would have in terms of the quality of passes.
On Tuesday, Education Minister Naledi Pandor said the department had set a national target of 50 000 students passing mathematics with a mark of at least 50 percent.
Doubts about the mathematics pass rate have also been raised by independent education expert Professor Jonathan Jansen in an opinion piece carried on page 20 in the Tribune today.
"How is it possible that 79 percent of pupils pass mathematical literacy in a country with the one of the worst numeracy results in the world?" he asked.
Jansen, a former dean of education at the University of Pretoria, said every international test that benchmarked South African pupils against pupils in other parts of the world, such as international mathematics and science studies, or the regional SACMEQ (Southern African Consortium for the Monitoring of Educational Quality) studies had pointed to broken foundations for numeracy in the pre- and early high school years, causing political consternation.
"Even homegrown research such as the so-called Systemic Evaluation confirmed the pattern of underachievement across the primary grades in numeracy. Now, suddenly, when every pupil does either mathematics or mathematical literacy, there are massive increases in performance across the board. It does not require profound knowledge of statistics to realise there is something rotten behind this spike in mathematics achievement," he said.
On Saturday, Mukadam said the CME believed the final mathematics exam was watered down and thus widened the gap between school and university for students.
"If this standard is going to be used as a benchmark for future examinations it will not adequately prepare young learners to study mathematics-related courses at university level."
Responding to the CME statement, Education Director-General Duncan Hindle said the government was confident its curriculum was up to standard.
"We have had a team of highly respected mathematicians who have helped us in the development of the maths curriculum, and we are confident it is of a high standard. However, we will take into account any specific comments that the CME makes."
Mukadam said even students who passed matric mathematics above the 50 percent mark were not necessarily prepared to cope with maths-related courses such as engineering, architecture and business science at tertiary institutions.
He said that normally, students who excelled at mathematics usually also excelled at science.
While in the maths exam 21,2 percent of pupils had scored above 50 percent, only 14,9 percent scored above 50 percent for the physical sciences exam, which he said was of a very good standard.
"This major discrepancy is a sure indicator that the standard of the mathematics exam for 2008 had dropped to an unacceptable level."
He said despite this about 60 percent of the pupils had still failed mathematics.
"This stands in stark contrast to the extremely high pass rate of 78,7 percent in mathematical literacy. It is easy to conceive that learners will now opt for what is perceived as the simpler alternative to mathematics, and that is mathematical literacy."
Mukadam said at the moment universities were already forced to bring matriculants up to speed with bridging courses and extended degree programmes.
He suggested an interim measure was to readjust the assessment system so that top students would also write an optional additional paper testing further conceptual abilities in the subject.
The Parents Association of KZN said it was crucial for the country to equip its students with the best skills in mathematics and science.
"We want the best for our children, and we cannot have a country without these services. But the Department of Education is not doing much to contain the problem. The CME is sounding the alarm bells, but the horse has already bolted," said its chairman Sayed Rajack.
Mukadam said the CME had set up a website, www.mathsexcellence.co.za, which contained free maths textbooks from Grade one to 12 which pupils could use to upgrade their skills.
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