South African STI Indicators- 2016 Report

This publication is part of our contribution to building the monitoring, evaluation
and learning capability necessary for assessing the health of the National System of
Innovation (NSI). The 2016 STI indicators report is based on the analysis of NSI performance during the period between 1996 and 2016. Coincidentally, government is leading a process of reviewing the current 1996 White Paper on Science and Technology and developing the new White Paper on Science Technology and Innovation (STI). Therefore, the 2016 STI indicators report can provide necessary input into the current policy development process.
The 2016 STI indicators report identifies areas of progress but also points to the lack of progress in certain areas of the NSI. First, the NSI human capital pipeline remains
constrained. The percentage of matric learners who passed mathematics and physical science with at least 50% remains low. The proportion of matric female learners passing mathematics and physics with at least 60% has been declining from 2008 to 2016.
Unsurprisingly then, the undergraduate percentage SET enrolment has remained stagnant between 2005 (29.4%) and 2015 (29.7%). Notwithstanding, at the postgraduate level, the proportion of science engineering and technology (SET) enrolment as percentage of total student enrolments has increased between 2005 and 2015.