An ambitious €178 million programme to help boost flagging student interest in science has been proposed by a Government task force.
In his foreword to the report, its chairman, Dr Danny O'Hare, says the importance of the fall-off in student interest in science has been understated.
"Unless there is a major national effort to reverse the fall-off, any other money we spend on attracting overseas investment will largely go to waste," he warns.
The report envisages spending over €143 million in providing new science laboratories in schools and colleges.
Other key recommendations include :
• The introduction of practical assessment at Leaving Cert level;
• Speeding up the long-delayed implementation of the primary curriculum in science with the appointment of an additional 20 science trainers;
• Schools to receive enhanced teacher allocation if there is a strong take-up in Leaving Cert science subjects;
• New incentives for science teachers, including opportunities for sabbaticals in industry and research.
Surprisingly, the report rules out the payment of British-style "hello money" to help attract science graduates into teaching.
The report comes amid a depressing backdrop for science subjects.
Last year, only 12 per cent of Leaving Cert students took chemistry, and only 16 per cent took physics.
Only 8 per cent of girls take physics at Leaving Cert level.
The popularity of science has also waned at third-level where students have been more attracted to computers and business courses.
The numbers taking science subjects at diploma/certificate level has declined by 43 per cent since 1996.
Generally teachers blame poor laboratory facilities, the absence of any practical exams and the perceived difficulty in gaining good Leaving Cert grades for the fall-off in interest.
To help arrest this decline the task force also envisages the establishment of a national forum on science education and a national science promotional programme.
It also wants third-level colleges to improve access routes for all applicants into science courses.
It invites institutes of technology to consider taking higher grades in foundation level Leaving Cert maths into account when assessing entry requirements into some science courses.
It also wants the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) to review the Leaving Cert maths courses.
Dr O'Hare says the new strategy will cost €178 million, with recurrent costs of €66 million per year.
He says the report requires whole-hearted support, not just from the political system but from "all players in the education system and from industry".
"What is at stake is the ability of our young economy to continue to grow," he says.
In response to the report, the Government has established a consultative process in which interested parties will be asked to give their views up to September 1st.
After this, an implementation strategy will be put in place, according to the Minister for Education, Dr Woods.