In a fresh attempt to address the poor performance of Leaving Cert students in maths and science, the Minister for Education, Mary Hanafin, says she wants third-level colleges to award bonus CAO points in higher-level maths for students taking science, technology and engineering courses.
Her demand, addressed to college registrars who are responsible for setting entry requirements for their courses, is likely to be considered by third-level colleges shortly.
Ms Hanafin told The Irish Times last night the proposed bonus points system would be good for students, good for the colleges and good for the economy.
The proposal is intended to make it more attractive for students to take higher-level maths in the Leaving Cert and to then go on to study science, technology and engineering at third level.
Before its introduction, college registrars would have to tease out precisely how such a scheme would work in practice. University of Limerick currently offers bonus points for higher-level maths for entry to all its courses. Dublin Institute of Technology gives bonus points to students with higher-level maths for courses in electronic engineering and some related areas.
The bonus points initiative was first floated by Ms Hanafin last year but it did not elicit any response from the colleges. But last night, the Minister appeared more confident that her plan would gain ground.
The drive to attract more students to science, engineering and technology comes after this year's Leaving Cert results.
Less than 7,000 of the 50,000 exam students gained Grade C or better in higher level maths, the minimum requirement for third-level courses in engineering and related areas.
Over 50 higher level engineering courses are offered through the CAO but the pool of students available to take these places has shrunk by more than 15 per cent in the past two years.
Bonus marks for maths in the Leaving Cert were abolished two decades ago. The Minister opposed a uniform bonus points system.
She said: " I don't want to see someone picking up bonus points for maths and then doing law at college. We want to reward students who opt for courses in science, engineering and technology at third-level . . . We need engineers and scientists and we need the computer experts."
Ms Hanafin acknowledged higher level maths was seen as "too difficult" when compared to other subjects. She hoped that new syllabus proposals in maths would change the perception of higher level maths as being unduly difficult. The new maths course, which places a stronger emphasis on problem solving, will be rolled out on a pilot basis in schools next year. But it could be at least September 2009 before it is fully implemented.
Ms Hanafin acknowledged that the problems in maths were deep-seated in Irish education, although it is an international phenomenon.
The chief examiner in maths has commented on the poor grasp of basic maths concepts among many students and the inability of students to answer less predictable questions.
In the international league tables prepared by the OECD, Irish 15 year olds are ranked in mid-table in maths. By comparison, Irish teenagers rank in the top three states when it comes to literacy skills.
The Minister also wants to encourage more students to take foundation level maths instead of ordinary level. Students have been reluctant to do this because ordinary level has been a minimum requirement for many third-level courses. This year, almost 5,000 students failed maths at higher, ordinary and foundation levels.