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Johannesburg - A drop in the number of maths students poses a severe threat to the accounting profession, according to the SA Institute of Professional Accountants (Saipa).
The institute on Tuesday called on the government to do more to boost maths teaching skills in the face of the already severe shortage of professional accountants in SA.
This was in response to reports about pupils struggling with maths being forced to switch to maths literacy.
The number of Grade 12 learners taking maths dropped to 26 3034 last year from 300 000 in 2008.
"By forcing learners to switch to maths literacy, the already dwindling pool of potential candidates who could enter professions where Grade 12 maths is required is reduced even further," said Shirley Olsen, the chairperson of Saipa's national accounting Olympiad committee, which runs an annual competition that aims to raise awareness of the accounting profession among learners.
SA already has a shortage of at least 26 000 professional accountants, without whom the economy was effectively handicapped, Olsen added.
"Compelling learners to drop maths instead of encouraging them to persevere is an extremely short-sighted strategy, given the country's economic growth aspirations," Olsen said.
The government should focus on improving the way maths is taught, she said.
Olsen conceded that while maths might not be critical to a successful working career for many, passing the subject at Grade 12 level demonstrated a grasp of certain skills that were important to the accounting profession in particular.
"A professional accountant may not routinely use algebra or trigonometry in their work," she said. "But the problem-solving skills and the ability to think methodically that are acquired in the course of mastering Grade 12-level maths is crucial to careers such as accountancy."
Olsen said it was for this reason that the profession could never consider dropping Grade 12 maths as a requirement for university entrance to study accountancy.
"We believe the answer lies in looking at the way that maths is taught in our schools and investing money and resources into turning out suitably skilled maths teachers," she said.