Teachers of scarce-skills subjects, including mathematics, science and English, must be encouraged and supported by government and industry to improve the supply of these critical scarce skills, says University of Pretoria acting vice principal of teaching and learning Professor Johann Engelbrecht.

“We live in a free-market society and increasing the remuneration of teachers teaching scarce-skills subjects will encourage more people to take up mathematics teaching as a career.”

Engelbrecht advocates the active involvement of industry and business, specifically those sectors with a strong focus on mathematics, in the schools in their areas. This method of sponsoring schools and deploying professionals to give mathematics lessons part-time to boost mathematics results has proved effective in Australia.

“To call 30% a pass is misleading. Most technical university programmes, including BSc degrees, biological sciences, information technology, financial management and several BCom courses, beside others, require a mathematics mark of 50% or higher, while engineering programmes require students to have a distinction in mathematics.”

The 2012 matric results showed that only about 51 000 students achieved a pass in mathematics of 50% or higher, while only 6 600 students achieved distinctions in mathematics.

“With only 6 600 prospective students available for engineering degrees at the country’s 23 universities, there are far too few students to sustain our demands for infrastructure development. Many of the students who achieved a distinction in mathematics will pursue careers other than engineering,” says Engelbrecht.

Mathematics has become a much larger part of many disciplines, including business, commerce and financial disciplines, especially given the use of computing processes in these disciplines. This means that most disciplines currently require an understanding of mathematics, logic and problem solving from its professionals, he highlights.

“South Africa must actively encourage learners at school to participate in mathematics activities, with an increased focus on problem solving. I believe that much of the mathematics teaching at schools is manipulation, which, while necessary, can lead to mathematics not being viewed as dynamic and useful.

“Similar to many developed countries, I believe that all learners should participate in mathematics olympiads. These olympiads expose them to the full scope of mathematics and problem solving. This exposure is critical to engender interest in technical professions among learners and to demonstrate the importance of mathematics for success,” Engelbrecht explains.

Further, the nonprofit South African Mathematics Foundation provides several free courses for teachers aiming to improve their mathematics teaching skills, but these courses are often underattended.

“While there are many admirable teachers, there is a distressing tendency by some teachers not to be dedicated to their profession. There are many supportive programmes by govern- ment and nonprofit organisations that are underused,” says Engelbrecht.

He calls on teachers to be dedicated to their craft, not only because their role is critical, but also because any deleterious teaching behaviour can harm a generation of learners. He also calls on government to provide the support that teachers require, which could include better remuneration and effective oversight.

Meanwhile, the development of a country, specifically infrastructure development, necessitates professionals well versed in mathe- matics. This means there is a strong need for South Africa to improve its mathematics teaching and skills to achieve its developmental goals.

“A sustained and strong focus on mathe- matics teaching and support, as well as boosting the status of the mathematics teaching

profession, is necessary for South Africa to prevent the threat of academic murder that can result from faulty teaching behaviour, which threatens the future of the country.

“It would be criminal to deny learners at schools the professional teaching they require to become comfortable with mathematics and its ubiqui- tous use in our societies worldwide.”

Engelbrecht encourages teachers to recognise the critical importance of their work and for government, organisations and industry to support them.

“You are working with the future of our country. “I urge you to become involved in the support programmes available and to be dedicated to your profession. “This also means that society must acknowledge the importance of mathematics teaching,” he concludes.