Agricultural science body calls for update of Leaving Cert syllabus

THE Agricultural Science Association (ASA) has called for an immediate updating of the agricultural science syllabus for Leaving Certificate students.

ASA president Elaine Farrell said the syllabus is 40 years old and is utterly unsuited to the modern agriculture and food industry.

“Teachers and students are struggling with an antiquated syllabus that concentrates on many defunct farming systems and practices, while a host of new sciences and technologies and all of the current schemes and regulations are ignored,” she said.

Ms Farrell said agricultural science is the fastest growing of all science subjects. This year, 9,000 Leaving Certificate students in over 200 schools are taking the subject.

“The syllabus they are required to follow falls way short of what is needed for a solid grounding in the subject and does nothing to prepare them for further education,” she said.

Elaine Farrell said efforts by the ASA and its colleagues in the Irish Agricultural Science Teachers Association over the past 15 years to have the syllabus updated have met with inaction from the Department of Education.

“The ASA has requested an urgent meeting with Education and Science Minister Batt O’Keeffe to impress on him the need for a new syllabus to be introduced for the 2009/10 school year,” she said.

Macra na Feirme has, meanwhile, warned that the new proposed Teagasc regional education centres must be strategic and facilitate the delivery of high quality agricultural education courses.

Otherwise, it said, there is no guarantee of the continued improvement in the standard of agricultural education in Ireland.

Macra president Catherine Buckley, speaking after a meeting with Teagasc director Professor Gerry Boyle, said Macra has always believed that providing the best possible education opportunities to farmers’is the key to giving agriculture a competitive advantage in the future.

She said Macra had reiterated its belief to Teagasc that agricultural education should be accessible to all on a full-time basis across the country.

“The demand for full-time agricultural education has been increasing over the past few years and is projected to increase further in 2009/10 academic year.

“Any restructuring must not undermine the futures of those who wish to pursue a career in farming,” she said, describing Macra’s meeting with the Teagasc director as “positive and constructive”.