Promoting learners who fail maths is not the issue — the department of basic education should be dealing with the “underlying problem” of why pupils are failing the subject.

This is according to teacher unions‚ who were reacting to the Department of Basic Education’s instructions to public schools to condone all grade 7 to 9 pupils who have obtained 20% in mathematics.

On December 2‚ the department released National Assessment Circular 03 of 2016‚ entitled‚ Special condonation dispensation for learners in the senior phase (Grades 7-9).