STUDENTS TAKING higher-level maths in the Leaving Cert should be awarded bonus CAO points to boost the supply of technology graduates at third-level, a Government taskforce has recommended.
The report from the Expert Skills Group on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) shows a dramatic fall-off in demand for third-level ICT courses. It also suggests academic standards among third-level ICT students are falling.
The report says students taking maths, physics and chemistry in the Leaving Certificate are effectively penalised, as it is more difficult to gain high grades in these subjects. As a result, an able student seeking to maximise points will opt for ordinary-level maths as a spare subject, it says.
It calls on the Department of Education to promote the bonus points scheme "to compensate students for the greater effort widely considered to be required for success in higher-level maths".
It also wants the State Exams Commission to investigate the "grading penalty" suffered by students taking higher-level maths.
Bursaries of up to €4,000 per year should also be considered to boost the recruitment of high-achieving students into computing and electronic engineering at third level. The report says the number of females opting for technology courses at third level has declined sharply, in part due to the "geeky"image of science.
The report also found:
• Demand for ICT skills is set to exceed supply of graduates, as fewer high-performing school-leavers opt to study in computing and electronic engineering;
• A greater share of all ICT employment is now accounted for by people with high-level skills, with lower-skills jobs being replaced by those with requirements for strong technical, computing and engineering skills;
• Inward migration will continue to be an important source of ICT skills;
• More time and resources should be given to development of maths skills in teacher-training courses.