When the 2025 matric results were released, the headlines told a familiar story: South African learners continue to struggle with mathematics. The mathematics pass rate dropped to 64%, down from 69.1% in 2024, despite a record 88% overall national pass rate. Only 34% of the 901,790 candidates took mathematics and maths distinctions fell sharply.
Some learners who did well in earlier grades find themselves failing it a few years later, frustrated and demoralised. The media and policymakers often frame this as a question of engagement: if only maths were made more interesting, relevant or fun, the thinking goes, more learners would succeed. This is also the prevailing intuition in classrooms, teacher training and public discourse alike: interest must come first.
The interest-first approach is rooted in a philosophy of autonomy. Children should not be forced; they should choose. Learning should be enjoyable, not coercive.
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In principle, it is a humane and appealing idea, but relying on interest alone carries risk. Interest is fragile. It often depends on home environment, parental support, access to resources and prior exposure.
For learners already at a disadvantage, waiting for curiosity or enjoyment to emerge can mean never developing essential skills. And for a subject like mathematics — an entry ticket to science, technology, engineering and finance — “never” is a luxury the country cannot afford. In many East Asian systems, for instance, the sequence of putting interest first is reversed.
Learners practise first. They develop competence through repetition and structured effort. Interest follows as confidence and mastery grow.
Motivation theory supports this: people tend to enjoy what they are good at. Competence breeds engagement, not the other way around. Mastery requires long stretches of practice, repetition and sometimes sheer boredom.
The key is disciplined effort, especially when the task is difficult, essential or unavoidable. Importantly, this alternative logic is not just theoretical — it has begun to shape real programmes, both in SA and internationally. In SA, the basic education department’s Teaching Mathematics for Understanding initiative (since 2016) is one example.
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