Education experts express concerns over the 2024 matric results for STEM subjects in South Africa, citing socio-economic factors and resource challenges as significant barriers to improvement. Department of Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube. Picture: Facebook
WHILE South Africans wait with bated breath for the National Senior Certificate examination results from Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube, education experts shared mixed views about the improvement from last year’s results including Science, Engineering, Technology and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.
Professor Labby Ramrathan, an education expert from the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s School of Education, said the country will not see any improvements from last year’s National Senior Certificate results.
"We are not going to exceed last year's results. I think nationally, we will be around 80% or slightly below it. This is because everything is in place. There is support from parents, boards, etc. Everything depends on the learners.
"All provinces have put in additional efforts to assist learners. Additional classes, weekend classes, etc. It is all dependent on how the learners have used the opportunities, extra support, and resources given to them throughout the year," Ramrathan said.
He said the Department of Basic Education cannot do anything more than they are now, and that the teachers have gone out of their way to assist pupils.
He advised those who have performed well to choose a career and work twice as hard at the tertiary level and urged parents to support their kids who did not do well.
“As we are expecting an 80% pass rate, it means 20% will fail the exam, so these kids need support.
”To those who are beginning their matric journey in 2025, I would say: start the year early and avoid distractions. Visiting, playing with friends and socialisation need to be restricted to make more room for studies. It is important to form small working groups of four to five people to help each other with your studies,” concluded Ramrathan.
Dr Sheetal Bhoola, a University of Zululand lecturer who also manages Stellar Maths, a Mathematics and English excellence school, said: “As South Africans, I feel we cannot really expect an improvement in the marks of the STEM subjects of the 2024 matrics.
“The overall matriculant results are based on a number of socio-economic factors such as appropriate resources (facilities and educators) at schools, and the performance of a matriculant is often related to class segregation in South Africa. Private and Semi-Private School learners have always performed better at matric than learners from government schools. I, therefore, feel that the trajectory would be similar, especially if there hasn’t been appropriate financial support towards schools so that they have improved facilities and access to resources that can enhance the teaching and learning process," said Bhoola.
She added that schools, especially public and former Model C have been encouraging learners struggling within the STEM subjects to opt for Maths Literacy rather than pursue pure maths as a subject.
Some public schools have not had access to educators who are appropriately skilled to teach pure mathematics, she said.
“Educators in particular need further rigorous professional development in relation to teaching and learning pedagogies appropriate for the STEM subjects. I therefore believe that schools and learners need to be continually informed of the benefit of developing themselves within the STEM subjects, which has not been done in South Africa,” Bhoola said.
Nationally and provincially, the Department of Basic Education needs to invest in employing educators at schools and lessening the ratio of pupils to learners in a classroom, she said.
She added that the completion of Grade 12 is only the entry ticket into university and one has to adopt similar principles they had whilst at school.
Professor Lydia Mavura, Head of Department for Maths Science and Technology at the University of Johannesburg said there is a likelihood of improvement in the matric results for STEM subjects.
She added that this improvement is expected to be modest due to persistent challenges in Mathematics, which continues to pose significant difficulties for many pupils in STEM subjects that rely heavily on contact sessions for practical laboratory activities.
She said the matric class of 2024 was in Grade 8 when the Covid-19 pandemic began, providing them with ample time to recover from the disruptions and lost learning opportunities.
“A notable silver lining of the pandemic was the acquisition of technological skills by both teachers and learners, a phenomenon I term as a ‘forced opportunity’,” Mavura said.
This unexpected development may have enhanced teaching and learning practices in several ways, she said.
Among the challenges plaguing the teaching and learning of STEM subjects, she mentioned the language of teaching and learning, which often hinders learners’ comprehension of complex concepts. The lack of adequate resources, including laboratory equipment, textbooks, and access to technology, also undermines effective teaching and learning.
She said the department should introduce tangible incentives to recognise and reward STEM teachers’ contributions, which might include public acknowledgment, financial rewards, or opportunities for career advancement.
Mavura urged pupils to identify academic programmes that align with their passions and directly contribute to driving the national economy.
gcwalisile.khanyile@inl.co.za