The examination of science subjects at Leaving Certificate level needed to be "drastically overhauled" or students would continue to choose alternative options, the State's second-level principals have stated.
The Leaving Certificate science exams did not reward students for undertaking practical work, the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD) said yesterday.
Speaking on behalf of the NAPD, Mr Sean Ashe said students were "voting with their feet" and deserting science subjects because they regarded them as hard to get points in.
He was speaking at a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Science, which heard submissions on the falloff in participation in science subjects.
Mr Ashe said poor facilities were also a major problem. Half of the laboratories were so bad they "would be shut down under health and safety legislation if we were really serious about it".
He said the crisis in science should be dealt with by restructuring the Leaving Certificate examination.
He said great demands were put on science teachers by industry, but industry was "putting very little funding" into the teaching of science at second level. He said the funds were very small compared to those going to third level.
A subcommittee of the Joint Committee on Science and Education is undertaking a study on the position of science in schools. Among the options being studied is the creation of a new general science subject at Leaving Certificate level.