The report in today's edition in which Intel expresses its concern about the continuing fall-off in interest in science is disturbing. A company, whose strong presence in this State has come to symbolise our new-found wealth, is saying in stark terms that science education is in crisis. In a submission to the Task Force on the Physical Sciences it says current trends which have seen an alarming fall-off in student interest in science must be reversed. This is the only response, Intel maintains, if we are to sustain and grow the vibrant hi-tech industries that have contributed to our strong economy.
In truth, the state of science education in this State is lamentable. Twenty years after it was first mooted, there is still no place for science in the Primary Curriculum. At second-level, there is little to fire the imagination of students in the current physics and chemistry courses. Incredibly, there is still no practical element to the courses at either Leaving Certificate or Junior Certificate level.
Students are voting with their feet. Fewer than one in six Leaving Certificate students now opts for Physics or Chemistry. At university level, points requirements for many technology and science-based courses are dropping. At UCG, for example, Arts now has a higher points requirement than Science. The high drop-out rate from technology courses also points to a serious problem at second-level. Many students do not appear able to cope with courses in which high standards in maths and sciences are a prerequisite.
Intel is not the first to point to the problem. An excellent report last year by Mr Richard Bruton for the Oireachtas Committee on Education and Science drew attention to the dwindling student interest in science. More recently, the Institution of Engineers in Ireland has made the bold suggestion that science graduates should be paid "hello money" to help attract them into the teaching profession. This proposal has drawn a frosty response from the teaching unions. They do not like the idea of teachers of different subjects receiving different salaries. But the Government has a wider responsibility.