OPERATING CONTEXT

The poor state of education impacts the CA pipeline

The future pipeline of accounting students is hindered by underperforming and under-capacitated education institutions

A major concern at a basic education level is mathematics. The low number of learners taking mathematics in high school, compounded by the extremely low number of learners passing with at least 60%, means that the accountancy profession pipeline is at risk. Added to this is the need for further development of mathematics educators

At a tertiary education level, challenges exist due to the low pass rates for third-year and PGDA students. These factors affect all institutions but significantly affected are the historically disadvantaged universities and the distance providers
Certain distant education providers have recently struggled due to significantly low throughput rates

SAICA plans to address mathematics challenges through partnerships in the short term and advocate for a comprehensive plan in the long term
In the training ecosystem, partnerships will be established with accredited providers
Continued interventions will support candidates in narrowing the gap in the pass rates of different racial groups

SAICA’s strategy must incorporate clear and intentional initiatives aimed at addressing these matters. These include:

Developing targeted support programmes in collaboration with schools, universities and other key role players to strengthen maths education. SAICA is doing this by raising funding aimed at school-level initiatives with a specific focus on mathematics
SAICA is also continuing to advocate for support for students in third year and PGDA and will continue raising funds for these initiatives
In addition to the normal accreditation and monitoring processes, at a strategic level SAICA continues to engage with the affected distance providers to ensure that they are building the necessary structures to better support students

SAICA’s efforts to uplift education (school and tertiary) include:

SAICA development camps in partnership with the provincial Departments of Education to assist learners in mathematics continued. These have seen learners who attend passing mathematics at the required level to ensure the growth of the chartered accountancy profession
Considering the use of technology to augment educator capacity
Investing in the development of mathematics educators
The SAICA Educator Development Programme: This programme provides professional development opportunities for mathematics teachers
The SAICA Maths Buddy Campaign: This campaign encourages mathematics teachers to share their passion for the subject with their learners

The South African Mathematics Olympiad is a prestigious mathematics competition that is open to all Grade 10 and Grade 11 learners in South Africa. The competition is designed to identify and nurture talented young mathematicians and to promote the importance of mathematics education. The SAICA sponsorship of the Olympiad has been a resounding success, with 1 125 schools participating in the first round of the competition in 2023
In addition to providing financial support for the competition, SAICA also provides a number of other resources to learners, such as study guides, online quizzes, and workshops. SAICA also partners with the provincial departments of education to promote the competition and to provide support to learners and teachers

SAICA sponsored the primary school maths educators problem-solving course. This saw more than 200 maths and accounting teachers enrol for the programme. SAICA is hopeful that improving the teachers’ understanding of mathematics will have a positive impact on how the teachers teach mathematics and in turn contribute positively to the results of the learners
At a university level, SAICA continues its transformation initiatives through the Thuthuka Bursary. The bursary fund provides financial support to learners deserving students who wish to study towards chartered accountancy (read more in the Learning, development and national imperatives report)