“Teachers need to have a strong grasp of these subjects and the ability and expertise to teach these subjects, so teacher development and support is vital for effective  teaching and learning,”  the head of the Wits School of Education, Professor Ruksana Os man, said yesterday.

The foundation for these subjects needed to be set firmly and strongly in earlier  grades, she said.

“While we are seeing an improvement in performance in matriculation mathematics and science, we know from our research that work in these subjects is cumulative, with concepts in later grades requiring firm foundation and strong foundational knowledge in earlier grades.”

Osman was reacting to  questions on the per formance in these subjects in light of the 2012 matriculation results.

“This suggests that for students to work with sophisticated concepts in later grades the foundations for the learning of such concepts need to be set firmly and strongly in  earlier grades.”

The African National Congress, in a statement, said it was partic ularly encouraged by the marked improvement of performance in these key subjects.

“This vindicates our effort to ensure that maths and science are mainstreamed and receive the necessary attention,”  said spokesman Jackson Mthembu.

The National Freedom Party (NFP) applauded the improvement in overall results but said it was still concerned about the continued poor performance of learners in maths and science.

“We are also concerned about the level of schooling in rural areas as rural schools are failng to attract enough  competent maths and science teachers,” said NFP president Zanele KaMagwaza Msibi.

“We propose that the Department of Basic Education come up with some incentives to attract top teachers to take up posts in rural schools which are always at a  disadvantage,” KaMagwaza Msibi said.