MOSCOW, April 17 — The United Kingdom’s economy will benefit from introducing mandatory math education until the age 18 as the nation’s inherent “anti-maths mindset” costs it tens of billions pounds in losses every year, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday, reported Sputnik.
“We’ve got to change this anti-maths mindset. We’ve got to start prizing numeracy for what it is – a key skill every bit as essential as reading,” Sunak said.
Improving numeracy rates is a matter of long-term interest for the UK, Sunak said.
“If we are going 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,” he stressed.
The prime minister believes that “maths is as important to the creative sector as it is to finance.”
In January, Sunak for the first time announced his plan to elevate the minimum age for compulsory math education in the UK from the current 16 to 18 years. According to the plan, all children in the UK will be taught some form of math until they turn 18.
