LESS THAN 20 per cent of Leaving Cert students have opted to take higher level maths in the Leaving Cert this week.
The trend will alarm Government and business leaders, working to build interest in a key subject.
In a related move, the Department of Education has postponed plans to update the Leaving Cert course in engineering.
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment had hoped the revised course – which is updated and more practical – would be rolled out in the Leaving Cert this year, but the whole project has been put on hold due to Government cutbacks. This year, fewer than 4,000 Leaving Cert students will take engineering at higher level.
The figures on maths and science will raise questions about the Government’s capacity to deliver the much-trumpeted “knowledge economy”.
Higher-level maths is an essential requirement for a huge number of third-level courses in science, technology and engineering. However the pool of students available to take these courses is continuing to shrink.
In practice, up to 80 per cent of school leavers are excluding themselves from careers in science, engineering and hi-tech industries by opting out of higher level maths.
This year, only 10,500 students will take maths at higher level.
The National Competitiveness Council said students took the view that higher-level maths was too demanding. It proposed new incentives for students to take higher level maths including the introduction of bonus CAO points. Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe has signalled his strong opposition to a new system of bonus CAO points.