Ibec has welcomed a statement form the Minister for Education Mary Hanafin in which she said changes to the Leaving Cert Maths curriculum are needed.
Speaking on RTE Radio, the minister said that the numbers failing the subject is a matter for "great concern" that change must be a matter of priority.
Welcoming the move, Ibec director of enterprise Brendan Butler said that Maths has failed to spark the interest of students and is considered to be much more difficult than other popular subjects.
"Students need to be given greater incentives to devote their time and efforts to maths and science," he said. "The Leaving Certificate focus on getting the most points is acting against students. The exam should also be about equipping school-leavers with the skills needed to succeed in later life".
IBEC also expressed concern at the 11 per cent drop in the number of students sitting higher level physics in the last three years.
"Ireland's economic future depends on the steady supply of an increasing number of people qualified in science and engineering. This will only happen if there is continuous improvement in grades in maths and science at secondary level," added Mr Butler.
This year only 19 per cent of students sat the higher level maths paper, compared to 63 per cent of students that sat higher level English paper.