Farming education ‘30 years behind’
She said it is ridiculous that a supposed reformed syllabus was approved in 1998 but has been left gathering dust for the past eight years.
In that time, major changes have occurred within the farming and food sector and even if this syllabus were to be introduced tomorrow, many of these changes would not be reflected.
Ms Lavery said the syllabus consists solely of a five-page, almost unreadable document.
In comparison, the biology syllabus is a 52-page booklet with accompanying teacher guidelines and support materials.
Ms Lavery said there is a clear onus on the Department of Education to introduce a reformed syllabus as a matter of urgency.
Independent research commissioned by Agri Aware shows that students are relying on information from the farming media, the agricultural industry and in most cases, the knowledge of their individual teachers, to supplement what is lacking in the current syllabus.
“There are more than 3,000 students studying agricultural science. These students need to be taken seriously,” she said.
Ms Lavery said Education Minister Mary Hanafin needs to intervene directly to ensure that the agricultural science syllabus is updated to reflect changes in the industry over the past number of years.
She said she had written to Minister Hanafin outlining the urgency of the situation.
