SA Grades 5 and 9 Students Ranked Poorly Globally in Maths and Science
- South African grades five and nine learners were ranked last among almost 60 countries assessed for mathematics and science
- This is according to the 2023 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study conducted globally
- South Africans blamed lazy teachers and a low quality of education for the ranking
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Tebogo Mokwena, a dedicated Briefly News current affairs journalist, contributed coverage of international and local social issues like health, corruption, education, unemployment, labour, service delivery protests and heritage in South Africa during his seven years at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.
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JOHANNESBURG—According to the International Mathematics and Science Study, Grade 5 and Grade 9 learners from South Africa were among the countries with the worst performance in mathematics and science.
SA ranks poorly in maths and science
According to the study, South African grade five learners were assessed against grade 4 learners from 58 other countries in mathematics and science. They placed last in comparison to other countries.
Grade 9 learners were assessed compared to grade 8 learners and were ranked fifth last above Jordan, Morocco, Brazil and Palestine. Singapore was the highest-ranking country.
SA blames education system
Netizens who were discussing the study on Facebook blamed the country's education system.
Rose Beal-Preston said:
"I am not surprised at all. Some young teachers today either refuse or do not have the required knowledge of teaching in the concrete in the Foundation Phase. They like to hand out worksheets and sit at their desks scrolling through their cellphones."
Jack Prentice said:
"These results are a sad indictment of SADTU and the Department of Basic Education. South Africa spends a fortune on basic education, yet we continually underperform in all the international benchmarking tests."
Herman De Waal said:
"Today's kids are not being deducted properly, and it shows in everything they do."
Junior Swartz said:
"How will you expect them to pass when they are busy thinking of TikTok?"
Osita Okoye said:
"They don't learn, and neither do they want to learn."
Education Minister Siviwe Gwaruba to review curriculum
In a related article, Briefly News reported that Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube wants to review the country's curriculum.
She wants to establish a forum to review its relevance and effectiveness.
Source: Briefly News
