SA's kids failing at maths

BARRIERS: GRADE 5S COME LAST IN THE WORLD IN SURVEY AND DO EVEN WORSE IN SCIENCE

- Thando Nondywana

South African children have ranked last in an assessment of mathematics and science in the latest international study, covering 54 countries.

In the study, 2023 Trends in International Mathematics and Science, released this week, South African Grade 5s scored an average of 362 points in mathematics. They lagged behind countries such as Morocco, Brazil and Saudi Arabia.

This marks a decline from the 374 points achieved in 2019.

In science, the country fared even worse, scoring an average of 308 points also for Grade 5s, below nations like Morocco, Kuwait and Jordan. This is a drop from the 324 points recorded in 2019.

According to the study, 91% of students from countries scoring below the low international benchmark of 400 demonstrated only basic mathematical understanding.

Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube said the results reflected both progress and persistent challenges.

"The results also highlight significant disparities. [Pupils] in quintile 1 to 3 schools, representing the most economically disadvantaged communities, consistently perform worse than those in quintile 4 and 5 schools," she said in a statement sent to Saturday Citizen.