South Africa stone last in Mathematics, Science education ranking

South Africa has once again been ranked stone last on the quality of its Mathematics and Science education in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Competitiveness Report 2014 – 2015.

The Global Competitiveness Report 2014 – 2015 assesses the competitiveness landscape of 144 economies, providing insight into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity.

“The Report series remains the most comprehensive assessment of national competitiveness worldwide,” the WEF said.

South Africa was ranked 144th out of 144 countries when looking at the quality of Mathematics and Science education.

The country was ranked at 140 out of 144 countries when it came to the quality of the education system.

It should be noted that the ranking is not based on testing the performance of students, but rather on opinions of business leaders.

The WEF used an Executive Opinion Survey for its education quality scores. As part of this survey local business leaders were asked:

• In your country, how would you assess the quality of math and science education in schools?
• How well does the educational system in your country meet the needs of a competitive economy?

The results showed that South African business leaders rated the local Mathematics and Science education quality as the worst in the world.

Quality of Mathematics and Science education

Quality of education system

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