State accused of failing to help science teachers

THE Government has been accused of meaningless commitments to Ireland’s knowledge-based economy as long as it fails to appoint lab technicians to help science teachers.

Their concerns about the fall in numbers opting for science will be a major issue at next week’s annual congress of the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI), which yesterday highlighted that just 3% of qualifications attained in 2005 were in the field of science.

Of the 120,375 public education and training qualifications awarded in 2005, just 3,826 were in the field of science, according to the Government’s National Skills Strategy published recently. Recent figures from the Central Applications Office (CAO) also showed a drop on last year in students choosing science degrees as their first preference for college next autumn.

TUI president Tim O’Meara said the statistics are extremely worrying, given that a strong supply of scientists and technologists should be a key driving factor in the knowledge economy.

He said there is clear evidence of the benefit of class and preparation time to students allowed when teachers are freed up by the appointment of lab technicians, as a small number of schools have already done from their own fundraising.

However, the creation of such positions in all second level schools was recommended in the 2002 report of the task force on physical sciences.

Just one-in-ten Leaving Certificate students sat higher level chemistry in 2005, slightly more took physics at that level, while the numbers taking higher level biology fell from 29% to 25% of all LC candidates between 2001 and 2005.

Mr O’Meara said the failure to move on the task force’s recommendations shows an appalling lack of Government commitment to increasing the numbers taking these subjects or supporting the required quality of science teaching.

“The Government’s indifference of the issue is frightening particularly given that they established the task force,” said Mr O’Meara.

At its annual convention next week, the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) will also seek the appointment of lab technicians.

The State has invested more than €21.5 million upgrading science labs in 740 second level schools to aid teaching of the Junior Certificate science syllabus in place since 2004.