Dropping mathematics as a compulsory subject to pass in Grades 7 to 9 is meant to reduce the dropout rate at the country's schools.

The Basic Education Department said this yesterday amid criticism that the move would dumb down the quality of education.

It announced this week that it was proposing the removal of maths as a compulsory promotion requirement in the senior phase - Grades 7 to 9.

It is also proposing allowing pupils in these grades to progress to the next grade if they pass four subjects at 40% (including a home language) and the other four subjects with 30%.

Department spokesman Elijah Mhlanga told Sowetan yesterday that they sought to ensure all pupils in the system have a fair chance to write matric.

"Currently, if you fail maths in Grade 9 and pass all other subjects, you fail.

"You're failed even if you were not going to take it in Grade 10," said Mhlanga.

"We want to avoid dropouts. Many can't progress right now even if they are successful in all subjects except maths."

The dropout rate is a huge problem. The department's figures released earlier this year show that while 1100877 pupils enrolled for Grade 10 in 2014, only 610178 started Grade 12 last year.

This was an alarming rate of 44.6% of pupils either dropping out of school or being held in Grades 10 and 11.

President of the Association for Mathematics Education of SA, Nico Govender, said he was not in favour of ditching maths as a compulsory promotion subject in lower grades. "It makes sense only in Grade 9. If you fail it there, then you'll know not to take it in Grade 10."

But changing the system in any other lower grades was perilous for the country.

"If it is no longer compulsory [to pass], schools won't put more effort in teaching it."

President of the National Professional Teachers Organisation of SA, Nkosiphendule Ntantala, found nothing amiss about the proposal. "They'll do maths, but it must not be that if you fail it you must not progress."