By OBAKENG MAJE
4 June 2025- The North West province has experienced a decline in National School Certificate (NSC) candidates, particularly in subjects like Mathematics and Physical Sciences. This comes after the province experienced a decline in the 2024 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations.
According to the statistics, the decline is concerning, as these subjects are considered crucial for higher education in STEM fields. While the province’s overall NSC pass rate was 76.2%, a decline from 2019, specific areas like Mathematics and Physical Science saw a decrease in performance.
The North West Department of Education spokesperson, Mphata Molokwane said they are aware of the declining Mathematics and Science participation, however, the list of schools not offering such subjects has been developed and supported. Molokwane said the visits are currently taking place to establish the reasons and for schools to come up with plans of ensuring that come 2026, Grade 10 learners are offering both Mathematics and Physical Science.
“The introduction of Technical Mathematics and Technical Science in Technical Schools, which learners are utilizing to replace Mathematics and Physical Science might be one of the contributing factors. This includes the increased availability of university courses, which only require Mathematical Literacy and Technical Mathematics.
“These subjects are comparatively easy compared to pure Mathematics. Also, parents and learners often pursue attainment of the aggregate score, which is easier to score through Mathematical Literacy,” he said.
Molokwane further said individuals opt for subjects that will boost their chances of ensuring the career course that they are aiming at. He added that policy allows for learners to change their subject should they believe that they are not coping or wishing to pursue a particular career path.
“So, this is the reason the number of learners are opting for Mathematical Literacy. Yes, it is true that percentage of full-time NSC candidates writing Mathematics dropped
from 53% in 2008 to 38.5% in 2023, while the percentage writing Physical Science dropped from 38.6% to 29.7% the same period.
“The department does not have qualified personnel to teach these kinds of subjects, especially the Technical Subjects. Candidates who have completed tertiary education often do not pursue teacher training, hence these challenges,” said Molokwane.
He said, also there is a high demand in the job market for those skills, leading to teachers not staying in the system. Molokwane said the department already embarked on Mathematics Lekgotla aimed at increasing participation, which comprised all stakeholders, parents, teachers and learners.
“There is a Mathematics Forum, which is aimed at looking into contextual factors in every school, to increase participation. Isolated schools which are not offering mathematics and district officials are zooming into the possibility of introducing Maths stream in 2026.
“Furthermore, plans are in place to explore the possibility of increasing each school’s Grade 10 maths participation by 5 to 10% enrolment in 2026,” he said.
The Guardian 