SADTU says students should consider leaning towards subjects like Mathematics and Physical Science

The South African Democratic Teachers' Union (SADTU) says competition for the best matric pass rate among provinces has led to the abandonment of critical subjects like Mathematics and Physical Science.

The union's comment comes on the eve of the start of the National Senior Certificate Examinations.

About 903 561 full-time and part-time scholars are expected to sit down for the exams.

SADTU National Spokesperson Nomusa Cembi says, "We encourage students to go for those critical subjects such as mathematics because those subjects open more doors for them and we are concerned that some provinces are abandoning critical subjects such as Mathematics, Physical Science, Accounting and Economics and are, instead opting for Maths Literacy in order to increase the number of learners passing and to look good when results are announced," says Cembi.

She says this is not a contest among provinces.

"We urge all provinces to strive to ensure that learners receive a quality national senior certificate that has a subject that can take learners to higher levels of education and that can open more doors for them once they have completed matric," she adds.