Thursday, April 08, 2010
EDUCATION Minister Mary Coughlan has given her backing to a bonus points system for higher Leaving Certificate maths to encourage more students to take up the subject at third level.
The Tánaiste told the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) annual conference in Clare yesterday that more needed to be done to reverse the falling number of science and maths graduates.
Her predecessor, Batt O’Keeffe, who set up a group of experts to review the country’s performance in maths, had initially been opposed to the idea. But Ms Coughlan said there was a need to take steps in the right direction.
"It is my view at this point that we could send a clear signal to our second-level student population with the introduction of a CAO points bonus for achievements in Leaving Certificate maths," she said.
However, the detail of when bonus points might be introduced, whether they would be applicable for entry to all third-level courses and how much they might boost college applicants’ points scores are not likely to be considered until later this year after the minister receives an expert group report on the matter.
Business body IBEC welcomed the minister’s support, claiming it would show multinational companies that the country was committed to developing the smart economy.
The proportion of school leavers taking higher level maths has fallen to around one-in-six in recent years, raising concerns among college staff and industry about the ability of third-level entrants and graduates seeking work to master concepts important to engineering and other high-skilled jobs.
Meanwhile, Ms Coughlan’s announcement that she is to ease pressure on some schools worst affected by a ban on middle management promotions did not ease relations with teacher unions, which all dismissed it as not going far enough.
Members of the TUI and Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) have been banned for the past month from doing the duties of various posts left vacant when colleagues retire, and both indicated the directive would not be lifted unless the promotion ban is completely reversed.
The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) is to continue its campaign to end the moratorium introduced a year ago, claiming many of its principals in smaller schools are as badly hit as those at second level as they must continue as full-time teachers with reduced managerial support.
ASTI’s central executive council is likely to ask the union’s 18,500 members to vote against the recently agreed public service pay and reform deal, after a motion was passed without dissent by delegates in Galway. TUI’s congress called on members to oppose the deal, while the INTO wants members to accept it.
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