This article considers the interdependence of literacy and numeracy foundations in the face of the propensity of and the ongoing debate about the adequacy of Math Literacy in the holistic development of South African scholars given the exceptionally poor outcomes. The World Bank reports that South Africa spends 6% to 6.9% of gross domestic product on education — much more than the global average of 3.6% to 4.7%.
This means that this country consistently features among the highest investors in education in the world. But even with this large and purposeful public investment, South Africa still performs significantly below global averages in international standardised assessments of children’s literacy and numeracy. As national averages are also shaped by profound socioeconomic inequality, learners in affluent schools perform as well as those in leading systems with the national performance being depressed by extremely poor outcomes in under-resourced black schools.
How Mathematical Literacy became the default option
The Sunday World has run several opinion pieces over the past year in which I’ve written about how damaging for South Africa’s development agenda Mathematical Literacy has become as an unintended consequence of its increased use in high schools.
Mathematical Literacy was introduced so that learners who were not likely to be able to master pure Mathematics could have a practical route towards basic numerical self-sufficiency. Regrettably it has rapidly evolved from being a fringe option to the default mainstream offering.
South Africa is the only country I know of that has reduced school mathematics scope to this level of redundancy as a compensatory measure.
Since matriculation pass rates are often used as the only measure of quality in education in South Africa, this elevated Mathematical Literacy as an attractive and less demanding avenue — particularly for under-resourced schools.
In most black schools the remedial option of Math Literacy accounts for the Mathematics curriculum in its entirety.
Statistics South Africa’s findings paint a very clear picture: Mathematical Literacy is concentrated in poorer black schools, where also most of the unqualified mathematics teachers are found. The system effect is regressive entrenching and deepening inequalities — frustrating aspiration for inclusive economic development in South Africa.
A barrier to STEM and economic opportunity
In the first article of this series (2 May 2026) I explained how university admission requirements for STEM and accounting programmes can divert capable learners who took Mathematical Literacy at school away from rewarding and potentially lucrative careers. These obstacles are particularly burdensome on poor and disadvantaged learners.
Engineering programmes usually require matric result of at least 60% in pure Mathematics.
A landmark study from the University of Oxford showed that diverting from pure Mathematics education prematurely is associated with measurable changes in the brain. This interruption in cognitive development may affect long term reasoning and problem solving. (Literacy and Mathematics are both part of the essentials of childhood development; together they form the basis on which young people can be prepared for work in future.) Such research is hugely relevant for South Africa. Mathematical Literacy is a much greater departure from pure Mathematics than what other countries adopted as alternative pathways.
Growing criticism of the Maths Literacy model
More recently other prominent commentators have begun to question the wisdom of introducing Mathematical Literacy, reiterating many of the arguments raised herein. In August 2026 former minister Naledi Pandor said that she had serious reservations about the intervention but had been pushed through by senior officials in the Department of Basic Education. This week the Daily Maverick also argued that South Africa’s high enrolment in Mathematical Literacy masks systemic failures and diverging educational inequality. The article posits that teacher training and career guidance need urgent reform as well asserts that Mathematical Literacy is ill equipped training young people for a modern economy (https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2026-10-13-failure-by-numbers-the-problems-maths-literacy-masks-in-sa-schools/).
The urgent need for Mathematics teachers
The Department of Basic Education has not responded to this raising public concern yet. This stasis is making it even more difficult to overcome institutional inertia. A decade of Mathematical Literacy may have exacerbated the shortage of properly qualified mathematics teachers. To extricate the country from this Gordian knot, not just policy change is required but a revolutionary intervention has become urgent, particularly as it pertains to the provisioning of Mathematics teachers. After all sufficiency in Mathematics for the larger part of our population is a prerequisite for South Africa’s development agenda as well as restorative justice in general.
Weak mathematics education has ripple effects and is beginning to expose existing faultlines in the education system. We need to ask how literacy and mathematical development interact with one another, whether they reinforce each other or not (and if so how), whether deficiencies in either feed back into the other damagingly etc. South Africa’s persistently poor performance in both areas suggests that is unlikely to be a coincidence.
South Africa’s reading crisis in focus
PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) tests reading literacy among nine and ten year olds worldwide; South Africa was last out of 57 countries. Comprehension crisis is evident in that 81% of Grade 4 learners cannot read for meaning in any language — they cannot retrieve basic information or make simple inferences from a text. South Africa scored 288 on the PIRLS mean score which is far below international benchmark (500) and well behind Egypt (second lowest ranked country) who scored 378. The gap was even greater when compared with Brazil (similar GDP per capita): South African Grade 4 learners were more than three academic years behind their Brazilian counterparts.
An equally worrying picture emerges from TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study): South Africa’s performance stagnates. Only 17% of Grade 5 learners were proficient in mathematics with the national mean score of 362 (well below international midpoint of 500). In Grade 9 only 15% reached the minimum proficiency benchmark — national mean score was 397. South Africa also ranked last in mathematics among economically comparable upper middle-income countries (Albania, Iran, Serbia and North Macedonia).
Why literacy and numeracy are interdependent
Literacy and numeracy are interdependent foundational capabilities. Together they enable people to learn, solve problems, participate in the economy and make decisions.
Each capability strengthens the other:
- Literacy allows people to understand and communicate information (language, instructions and reasoning used in mathematical problems).
- Numeracy helps people to interpret quantities, work confidently with numbers and make sound mathematical judgements while reinforcing reasoning, pattern recognition and interpretation of information.
Mathematical fluency is achieved through this interplay it also enables scientific thinking, financial decision making, digital participation and workplace competence. Literacy and numeracy together turn educational opportunity and available resources into achievements.
The economic cost of weak foundations
For an entrepreneur, for example literacy is needed to read contracts; talk to customers; fill out applications. Numeracy is equally important for pricing products; calculating profit; managing cash flow; assessing financial risk. Weaknesses in either capability will therefore constrain enterprise development and limit broader economic participation. Not providing either foundation in schools (as learners may do when they move into Mathematical Literacy prematurely) weakens logical reasoning and analytical ability while stifling strong numerical competence.
It is acknowledged that more research is needed. Nonetheless, South African learners’ poor performance in literacy and numeracy is a major concern. These mutually reinforcing foundational capabilities need to be strengthened if the country is to reverse educational decline and improve its long-term economic prospects.
- Randall Carolissen (PhD) is an accomplished business leader with years of experience in developing and executing strategy, driving transformation programmes across multiple industries.
- South Africa spends 6% to 6.9% of its GDP on education, significantly above the global average of 3.6% to 4.7%, yet performs below global standards in literacy and numeracy.
- Mathematical Literacy was introduced as a less demanding alternative to pure Mathematics but has become the default option in many under-resourced black schools, contributing to educational inequality.
- Only 15%-17% of South African learners meet minimum proficiency in mathematics, with South Africa ranking last among comparable upper middle-income countries in mathematics performance.
- Literacy and numeracy are interdependent foundational skills essential for learning, problem-solving, economic participation, and overall cognitive development.
- There is growing criticism of Mathematical Literacy as ill-equipped for preparing learners for modern economies, and an urgent need exists for more qualified mathematics teachers and policy reform.
