A professional body has urged for "balance" in the debate on higher-level Leaving Certificate maths and has said achieving an honours grade is "not as difficult" as is currently perceived.
Matt Moran, PharmaChemical Ireland
Professional body Engineers Ireland said "misleading interpretations" had caused students to be fearful of the higher level paper.
The organisation called for a bonus points system to be introduced for higher level maths.
Engineers Ireland registrar Denis McGrath said the fact that such a high percentage of the students who sat the paper this year achieved an honours grade demonstrates that achieving an honours grade in higher level maths is "not as difficult as is currently perceived".
"Achieving our economic potential hinges on the availability of many more qualified engineers and engineering technicians. Encouraging more students to take higher level maths, through a more balanced debate and the introduction of bonus points is a crucial part of ensuring that Ireland is capable of producing the numbers of the key specialists that will be required," Mr McGrath said.
Úna Parsons, Engineers Ireland industry director said: "The fact that 82.2 per cent of students sitting the higher level maths papers achieved a C3 or higher, up from 78.3 per cent last year, is overlooked. Furthermore 31,400 students passed ordinary level maths, which is a requirement for engineering technology programmes."
Other industry leaders expressed concern with the continued fall in the number of students obtaining honours in certain subjects.
Commenting on the results today, PharmaChemical Ireland, the Ibec body representing the pharmaceutical industry, noted a 5 per cent drop in the number of pupils achieving honours in higher level chemistry since 2003. It said there had been a 24 per cent decline at ordinary level.
PharmaChemical Ireland Director, Matt Moran said: "It feels a bit like Groundhog Day - another year, another set of Leaving Certificate Results - and still no marked improvement in science in our schools.
"While industry is doing its best to promote careers and has even developed a range of support materials for science teachers the Government still continues to drag its feet."
"The Physical Science Task Force report (March 2002) highlighted several measures to improve the science up take at second and third level. Yet four years later, the majority of the recommendations have yet to be implemented," he said.
"We need to invest in education, particularly the life sciences, if Ireland is to build itself as a knowledge based society," said Mr Moran.
Jan O'Sullivan, Labour Party
"A clear mismatch has started to emerge in Ireland. On the one hand our economic policy is moving us in one direction, trying to encourage the growth of key sectors such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, biotechnology and information technology. On the other hand, fewer young people are leaving school with the skills and the interest needed to support the projected growth of these sectors."
The Labour Party's education spokeswoman Jan O'Sullivan congratulated all Leaving Cert students who received their results today but she called for a rethink on how maths and science subjects are taught and assessed.
She said despite the overall impressive results that "as a country we can no-longer tolerate the deteriorating pass rates in maths and science that are fast becoming the main issue of concern at second level".
"A high number of students would not now be able to advance to third level education on the basis of their maths results alone, regardless of how they performed in other subjects. Whilst the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment has already criticised the difficult and unimaginative Maths course, the situation was compounded this year by claims that questions asked in the Higher Maths paper were phrased in a manner that was difficult for students to understand," she said.
"We are in danger of producing students who, while otherwise extremely well-educated, are innumerate to acceptable and appropriate academic standards. Were the situation in maths and science to be replicated in English or modern languages, there would be a national outcry."