ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. STEM Education
Concerning Status of Mathematics and Physics for Secondary School Science Students' Sustainability in 21st Century STEM Disciplines
Provisionally accepted
- Mbeya University of Science and Technology, Mbeya, Tanzania
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The National Examination Council of Tanzania significantly influences secondary school graduates' career paths through the Certificate of Secondary School Education (CSEE). This study examined future implications and strategies to enhance graduates' prospects in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields, focusing on the 2022 CSEE results from 58 secondary schools in Mbeya City. Statistical tools like tables, bar charts and chi-square employed in the data organization and analysis for interpretation. Out of aApproximately 7,900 students, the study revealed that about 1,500 (19%) were capable of pursuing STEM careers in which two thirds were , 800 (14%) from public and 700 (32%) from private schools. Around 500 girls participated in STEM, with about 4 times number of students from public schools came from private schools200 (7%) from public and 300 (27%) from private institutions. While gender parity was achieved in private schools, boys outperformed girls in public schools. Physics recorded the lowest both in participation and performance, with approximately 3 times number of students from public schools came from private schools regardless public schools. 13% and 36% pass rates in public and private schools respectively. Mathematics and physics emerged as a key enabler for STEM success.. Following this study The study emphasizes improving STEM performance and promoting gender equity, particularly in public schools, to meet growing global demands., it is recommended to promote both mathematics and physics for science students to consider taking CSEE unlike a prevailing situation in which physics is optional but mathematics is mandate.
Keywords: 21st Century Skills, chi-square test, CSEE, gender disparity, STEM studies
Received: 20 Oct 2025; Accepted: 04 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kibona. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Isack Ephraim Kibona
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