Sir, - The statistics reported by Roddy O'Sullivan ("More students want places or degree courses", The Irish Times, August 13th) raise some interesting questions. Why is it that first choice of education-related degree courses fell by almost 14 per cent. While the numbers applying for administration and business courses was up by the same percentage? It is reported that science and applied science courses also experienced a decline in demand.
Earlier this year, Prof D. J. Fegan, of the department of experimental physics at UCD, in a letter to The Irish Times, addressed the issue of the diminishing numbers of students taking physics and chemistry at second level and the potentially damaging consequences for our evolving knowledge-based economy. While acknowledging Mr Martin's injection of £15 million to modernise the science laboratories of our schools, he quite rightly pointed out that soon we may not have enough teachers of the subject at second level. To quote Prof Fegan, "a further contributory factor may be that teaching physics and chemistry in secondary schools is no longer seen as an attractive career option".
The figures quoted in Roddy O'Sullivan's article would seem to bear out Prof Fegan's concerns that our young people are opting for more lucrative careers than those in education. The difficulty in recruiting graduates to the teaching profession across the water is threatening the availability of language and mathematics as subjects in their schools.
Ireland is at an unique historic period in her economy, an economy which owes its success in no small way to its teachers and education system. The challenge for all those who have an interest in education and the teaching profession in this country - i.e., parent bodies, teachers' unions, management bodies, the Departments of Education and Finance and IBEC - is to ensure that teaching is regarded and rewarded as a worthwhile profession for both male and female. - Yours, etc.,
Bernadine O'Sullivan, President ASTI, Fortfield Road, Dublin 6.