SA’s maths teacher shortage: The numbers, and what could actually fix it

The South African teaching profession grapples with numerous obstacles, including teacher shortages, an aging workforce, and burnout. However, there are viable solutions to address the issue. Malindri Eastes, executive manager of the nonprofit organisation Teachers Plus, highlights that South Africa achieved its highest-ever matric pass rate of 88% for the Class of 2025, a significant accomplishment considering the record number of candidates and improvement in weaker provinces.

Yet, focusing on mathematics reveals a different scenario. Only 34% of candidates wrote maths, and among those who did, the pass rate declined from 69% in 2024 to 64% in 2025. This sharp drop in a single year indicates that the issue lies not with students struggling with mathematics, but with the teacher shortage.

The shortage in mathematics is a critical concern, and its impact is unevenly distributed. In Gauteng City-Region Observatory's study for Grade 10 enrolments, more than 90% of learners in quintile 1 to 3 schools, serving the poorest communities, were enrolled in mathematical literacy rather than pure mathematics. This trend is consistent across poorer schools, which are less equipped to attract and retain specialist teachers.

The problem stems from a historical legacy of inadequate resource allocation in disadvantaged schools. Prior apartheid education policies deliberately underfunded schooling for Black South Africans, including maths and science provisions. Despite policy changes, this funding gap remains unaddressed, leading to unequal access to mathematics education.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that 23,353 qualified maths teachers were unemployed in 2024, while schools struggled to fill vacancies. Additionally, the absorption rate of Funza Lushaka bursary graduates – a government-funded teacher training program – has dropped from 83% in 2019 to just 17% in 2024. This highlights the issue of placing trained teachers in schools that require them.

To resolve this multifaceted problem, a combination of strategies is necessary. Simply training more teachers will not suffice if there are systemic issues in placing them in schools that need them. Addressing the shortage requires both increasing the supply of qualified mathematics teachers and improving the distribution of existing teachers to better serve disadvantaged schools.