A new technology syllabus for the Leaving Certificate and an allocation of €40 million in funding for technology equipment have been announced by the Minister for Education.
As part of the bumper technology package, a revised course entitled design and communication graphics will replace technical drawing and a new subject entitled technology will be offered to Leaving Certificate students at the start of the 2007 school year.
More than 500 post-primary schools will also receive grants to replace and modernise equipment in metalwork and technology rooms.
The two new Leaving Cert syllabuses, which will be examined for the first time in 2009, were announced by Mary Hanafin yesterday at the launch of a report on a review of occupational health and safety in the technologies in the post-primary sector.
"The new Leaving Certificate technology will allow for a progression for students studying the subject in Junior Cert, where some 10,800 in 154 schools study the subject," said the Minister. "This new subject will enable students to develop an understanding of how technology impacts on our everyday lives and on society generally.
"Maths, science, technology and engineering are generally the drivers of innovation in the knowledge society," she added.
The allocation of €40 million in funding for technology equipment follows findings in yesterday's report, which stated that all schools visited were missing some of the key elements of an integrated occupational health and safety management system.
In the coming weeks, more than 500 post-primary schools will receive details of their individual funding allocations based on the number of specialist rooms in the school and the subjects taken.