{"id":99843,"date":"2025-08-14T14:10:48","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T12:10:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=99843"},"modified":"2025-08-14T14:11:28","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T12:11:28","slug":"south-africas-maths-crisis-decline-in-pure-maths-threatens-future-skills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/south-africas-maths-crisis-decline-in-pure-maths-threatens-future-skills\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa\u2019s Maths Crisis: Decline in Pure Maths Threatens Future Skills"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a> <\/em>
\n3-minute read | 14 August 2025 | 14:02 CAT<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

\ud83d\udcf8 The choice between pure maths and maths literacy shapes future careers and South Africa\u2019s future workforce.<\/p><\/div>\n

South Africa is quietly losing its next generation of engineers, scientists, and innovators as more high school learners abandon pure mathematics in favour of mathematical literacy \u2014 a trend most visible in under-resourced schools.<\/p>\n

Education specialist Dr. Muavia Gallie has been sounding the alarm for years. \u201cIn 2018, 44% of learners took maths. Six years later, that figure dropped to 36.2%. If we lose another 8% in the next six years, we\u2019ll be at just 28% and from there, it only spirals downward,\u201d he warns.<\/p>\n

Dr. Gallie, a curriculum designer, says this is not just a numbers game but a systemic issue. \u201cOur mathematical teaching in South Africa is broken. It\u2019s not our teachers, it\u2019s the system. Teachers have largely been trained to get learners to find the answer, not understand the reasoning. The moment a question is framed differently, learners struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n

The introduction of mathematical literacy, he explains, was never meant to replace pure maths. Originally intended as \u201ccommercial maths\u201d dealing with percentages, rates, and other practical applications, it became a political tool to reduce failure rates. \u201cMathematical literacy is not an option of mathematics. It\u2019s a commerce subject, not a mathematical one,\u201d he stresses.<\/p>\n

The consequences are severe. Learners who choose maths literacy limit their options for university courses in science, engineering, technology, and even certain commerce fields. \u201cMathematics is more than a subject it\u2019s a life skill. It develops creative thinking, problem-solving, and the ability to understand complex concepts. Even to deeply engage with the Qur\u2019an\u2019s scientific dimensions, you need mathematical understanding,\u201d Dr. Gallie notes.<\/p>\n

He calls for urgent, systemic reform, insisting that the problem can be solved within three to five years without foreign intervention. \u201cWe have the capacity in our country. What we lack is confidence and the political will to act,\u201d he says. Encouragingly, the recent public debate has sparked interest from education officials.<\/p>\n

Parents, Dr. Gallie argues, have a critical role to play. \u201cInsist on pure maths for your children and support them. Understand that the challenges they face are not about their ability, but about how they are taught.\u201d<\/p>\n

As South Africa edges closer to a skills shortage crisis, the choice between pure maths and maths literacy is no longer an individual decision. It is a national concern.<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on The Daily Round-Up<\/em><\/a> with Moulana Junaid Kharsany and Dr. Muavia Gallie.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read | 14 August 2025 | 14:02 CAT South Africa is quietly losing its next generation of engineers, scientists, and innovators as more high school learners abandon pure mathematics in favour of mathematical literacy \u2014 a trend most visible in under-resourced schools. Education specialist Dr. Muavia Gallie has been sounding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":99844,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Math.jpg?fit=1600%2C900&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-pYn","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-24 14:47:33","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}