Hanafin vows to solve growing maths problem

MEASURES to make maths more interesting for Leaving Certificate students will be in place within two years, Education Minister Mary Hanafin insisted yesterday.

After 4,069 people found out yesterday that they failed ordinary level maths in this year’s exam, the minister responded to criticisms of the maths curriculum from business leaders and opposition parties. The failure rate means one-in-12 students who took the ordinary level exam are ineligible for many college courses with minimum entry requirements for maths.

But Ms Hanafin said that proposals she received from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) will be implemented from September 2008 in some schools and across the board from 2009.

“They’ve identified that we’re not very good at problem solving, that we need to use information technology more, with changes in the way we teach as well as the way we learn, and changes in the curriculum,” said Ms Hanafin.

“We’ll see a change in Leaving Certificate maths that identifies students’ skills and the skills they’re going to need, giving them an option of following a science or a business trend using maths,” she said.

Ms Hanafin said many people were taking ordinary level maths and failing, whereas foundation level might be more appropriate. Since the point was raised with third-level colleges last year, more than 200 courses now accept students with foundation-level maths.

The minister said that while there are high numbers of good grades among the one-in-six students taking higher-level maths, problems remain with the low uptake — down from nearly 10,000 in 2005 to 8,388 this year.

Labour Party education spokeswoman Jan O’Sullivan said that only a radical reform of maths that challenges the way students learn can have a meaningful impact on their experience of the subject.

“We need to shift focus away from rote learning and towards transferable skills for everyday life, for third level and for work,” she said.

“These results will be a further deterrent to students taking higher-level maths unless decisive action is taken by the minister. She can’t let another year pass without addressing what has become a serious flaw in our education system,” she added.

The minister rejected calls for bonus college application points for higher level maths, but acknowledged it could be considered as an incentive for those seeking places on courses with a significant maths element.

Engineers Ireland registrar Denis McGrath said incentives need to be introduced to encourage students to take higher level maths.

Youth Work Ireland, which represents local voluntary youth services, called for a major reform of what it called the antiquated Leaving Certificate. “The terminal and overly academic nature of the exam and syllabus are in need of radical review,” said its director, Michael McLoughlin.