During the week of 16 to 19 September 2014, more than 7,3 million learners in Grades 1-6 and Grade 9 wrote the Annaul National Assessment tests in Numeracy and Literacy. The report on these assessments provides the education sector with valuable information on the performance of the system at the level of the school, district and province and also useful information on the performance of the individual learner, which in combination must be used to identify the critical areas of weakness and to subsequently develop relevant interventions for improving learning and teaching in schools.

The Annual National Assessment (ANA) results indicate that the problem with mathematics has its roots in primary school, where many learners fail to gain basic mathematical skills. The 2014 ANA results saw only 39% of grade six learners and 2% of grade nine learners scoring more than 50% in mathematics. The curriculum content and learning materials assume that by the senior phase learners have mastered basic mathematics concepts. Therefore, the basics are no longer taught in this phase. It follows that, for those learners who have failed to grasp the basics, their chances of success as they approach the exit point in schooling are considerably diminished.

The significance of the dramatic dip in performance at grade nine level is therefore not that the education system is "unlearning" our learners, but is a direct consequence of compounding backlogs and increasingly inventive ways learners use to beat the system and dodge detection, with dire consequences for individual learners and the system.

Possible solutions to address performance in Mathematics include the following:

1. Identify learners who lack foundational mathematical skills
2. Provide these learners with remedial assistance
3. Re-evaluation of conditions in classrooms
4. Introduce programmes to support mathematics education