Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will on Monday criticize an “anti-maths mindset” that he says is holding back the British economy.
(Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will on Monday criticize an “anti-maths mindset” that he says is holding back the British economy.
In a speech in London, Sunak will say that numeracy is “every bit as essential as reading” and take aim at a “cultural sense that it’s ok to be bad at maths.”
Poor understanding of maths is too often regarded as “socially acceptable” and putting children at a disadvantage.
“If we are to grow the economy not just over the next two years, but the next 20, we simply cannot allow poor numeracy to cost our economy tens of billions a year or to leave people twice as likely to be unemployed as those with competent numeracy,” Sunak will say, according to extracts released by his office.
The UK is one of the least numerate countries in the OECD, with more than 8 million adults having skills below those expected of a 9-year-old and around a third of young people failing to pass GCSE maths exams, normally taken at age 16.
Sunak has said he wants every child to study some form of maths up to the age of 18. On Monday, he will announce an expert-led group to advise on ways to achieve that goal.
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