Dempsey gives schools option to introduce science syllabus
Education Minister Noel Dempsey made the announcement yesterday a week after the country's second-level teachers took holidays.
Schools will have the option to teach the old syllabus or introduce the new course.
However, those continuing with the old syllabus for the 2006 Junior Certificate will not be eligible for funding to bring their laboratories up to standard.
Capital funding has been promised next year for the small number of secondary schools which have no labs for science students.
The revised syllabus offers students a chance to do more practical experiment work and is designed to increase interest in studying science subjects for the Leaving Certificate.
But teacher unions were concerned about introducing it until schools have safe and modern labs and equipment.
The Teachers Union of Ireland congress in April voted not to teach the syllabus until school labs were adequately resourced.
However, Mr Dempsey was anxious to bring in thesyllabus and has given all schools the option to begin teaching it from September.
Schools can apply for grants of at least €3,500 to upgrade their lab facilities up to the end of October.
"I realise that implementing the new syllabus from 2003/04 may pose difficulties for some schools, but I would encourage as many of them as possible to adopt the revised syllabus quickly," said Mr Dempsey.
"The investigative learning approaches provided for in the new syllabus are an important part of making the subject more attractive so that an increased number of students will choose a science option at senior cycle. This is vitally important for our future," he said.
TUI education officer John MacGabhann said the union's executive would consider the proposed syllabus later this month but he welcomed the Department of Education's recognition that every school needs lab facilities.
The Department of Education said it realised the timing causes difficulty for some schools and this was the reason implementation of the new syllabus was optional for the first year.
"No decision has been made on implementation in 2004 at this stage. Every effort is being made to encourage as many schools as possible to adopt the new programme from September and to address the needs of a small number of schools which have difficulties with laboratory access," a department spokesperson said.
Just over 50,000 of this year's 59,000 Junior Cert candidates will sit the science exam on June 12.
