A REPORT, published by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, will deepen concerns about standards in maths and science.
The Global Competitiveness Reportranks Ireland 24 out of 139 countries for maths and science, down 10 places since last year. It also places Ireland well down the table (at 58) for internet access in schools despite the Government's much-publicised commitment to the "smart economy". This ranking is down 10 places from last year.
Overall, the report ranks the Irish education system at 11 for its overall quality, a creditable performance given the relatively low levels of State investment.
Last month over 4,000 students failed maths in the Leaving Cert, while only 14 per cent of students took the higher level paper in June.
Only about 7,000 students take higher level physics or chemistry in the Leaving Cert, while failure rates remain stubbornly high at ordinary level in these subjects.
In other findings, primary education scored well, ranked third highest in the EU behind Finland and Belgium – and ahead of better-financed education systems such as Luxembourg, the UK and Spain.
Overall the report says Ireland “continues to benefit from a number of strengths, including excellent health and primary education and strong higher education and training”.
Sheila Nunan, general secretary of the Irish National Teachers Organisation, said, given the acknowledged extent of under-investment in primary education, Irish teachers and parents were turning a negative into a positive.
Earlier this week the OECD showed Ireland to be one of the least well-funded education systems, ranking fourth last of 33 countries.