diff --git a/gnu/local.mk b/gnu/local.mk
index f1dab53f2b..62b707e203 100644
--- a/gnu/local.mk
+++ b/gnu/local.mk
@@ -2050,6 +2050,7 @@ dist_patch_DATA =						\
   %D%/packages/patches/sbcl-png-fix-sbcl-compatibility.patch	\
   %D%/packages/patches/scalapack-gcc-10-compilation.patch	\
   %D%/packages/patches/scheme48-tests.patch			\
+  %D%/packages/patches/scilab-better-compiler-detection.patch	\
   %D%/packages/patches/scons-test-environment.patch		\
   %D%/packages/patches/screen-hurd-path-max.patch		\
   %D%/packages/patches/scsh-nonstring-search-path.patch	\
diff --git a/gnu/packages/maths.scm b/gnu/packages/maths.scm
index 3ce67cc0ba..95bc041e8c 100644
--- a/gnu/packages/maths.scm
+++ b/gnu/packages/maths.scm
@@ -9724,6 +9724,7 @@ computation is supported via MPI.")
        (sha256
         (base32
          "08nyfli3x7gd396ffd1a8zn9fj3gm6a8yw0ggm547c09sp2rgvl7"))
+       (patches (search-patches "scilab-better-compiler-detection.patch"))
        (modules '((guix build utils)
                   (ice-9 ftw)))
        (snippet
@@ -9884,7 +9885,11 @@ computation is supported via MPI.")
             (add-after 'bootstrap 'bootstrap-dynamic_link-scripts
               (lambda _
                 (with-directory-excursion "modules/dynamic_link/src/scripts"
-                  ((assoc-ref %standard-phases 'bootstrap)))))
+                  ((assoc-ref %standard-phases 'bootstrap))
+                  (substitute* "compilerDetection.sh"
+                    (("PATHTOCONFIGURE=.*")
+                     "PATHTOCONFIGURE=${BASH_SOURCE[0]%/*}/\n")
+                    (("PROGNAME.*") "\n")))))
             (add-before 'build 'pre-build
               (lambda* (#:key inputs #:allow-other-keys)
                 ;; Fix core.start.
diff --git a/gnu/packages/patches/scilab-better-compiler-detection.patch b/gnu/packages/patches/scilab-better-compiler-detection.patch
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..225f773826
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gnu/packages/patches/scilab-better-compiler-detection.patch
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+From fada18edd8905f3321fd1719b1c0a46c66d214af Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
+From: Nicolas Graves <ngraves@ngraves.fr>
+Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2024 06:29:25 +0100
+Subject: [PATCH] scilab: Better debugging in compilerDetection.sh.
+
+---
+ .../dynamic_link/src/scripts/compilerDetection.sh    | 12 +++++++++---
+ 1 file changed, 9 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
+
+diff --git a/scilab/modules/dynamic_link/src/scripts/compilerDetection.sh b/scilab/modules/dynamic_link/src/scripts/compilerDetection.sh
+index 0a22a695555..ead86eb58ac 100755
+--- a/scilab/modules/dynamic_link/src/scripts/compilerDetection.sh
++++ b/scilab/modules/dynamic_link/src/scripts/compilerDetection.sh
+@@ -18,10 +18,16 @@ if test -x "$(which gcc 2>/dev/null)"; then
+ fi
+ 
+ # Relaunch configure if files are missing
+-if test ! -s Makefile.orig -o ! -s libtool; then 
++if test ! -s Makefile.orig -o ! -s libtool; then
+     echo "Detection of C/C++/Fortran Compilers"
+     ./configure --disable-static --disable-dependency-tracking "$@"
+-    mv Makefile Makefile.orig
+-else 
++    configure_exit_status=$?
++    if [ $configure_exit_status -ne 0 ]; then
++        cat config.log
++        exit $configure_exit_status
++    else
++        mv Makefile Makefile.orig
++    fi
++else
+     echo "Detection of compilers already done"
+ fi
+-- 
+2.41.0
+