Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 February 2009
614 Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Education and Science the steps which he has taken to implement the recommendation outlined in the future requirement for high level information and communication technology skills in the ICT sector report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4433/09]
View answerWork on implementing the recommendations outlined in the report by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) on the Future Requirement for High-level ICT Skills in the ICT Sector is ongoing. The Higher Education Authority (HEA) is funding a number of awareness initiatives to promote ICT courses to prospective students and the HEA continues to provide funding to third level institutions, both to improve the attractiveness of existing ICT courses and to set up new ones. An encouraging sign is that enrolments on level 8 computing courses increased by 10% in 2008.
In regard to second level, I have recently launched a major initiative, Project Maths, designed to encourage better understanding of maths, to reinforce the practical relevance of maths to everyday life, and to ensure better continuity between primary and second level, and junior and senior cycle. The initiative started in 2008 and is being piloted in 24 schools. The curriculum changes will be phased in over three years and mainstreaming will begin in 2010, prefaced by a national programme of professional development for teachers beginning in 2009. Project Maths will be supported by intensive investment in professional development for teachers and by investment in materials and exemplars for teachers. Some €3m has been provided for the programme in 2009 and the investment will continue over a number of years, to at least 2013, in a rolling programme of reform.
I am aware of the calls for the introduction of bonus points for Higher Level Mathematics in the Leaving Certificate. Decisions on the award of points and admission criteria for entry to higher education programmes are, under legislation, a matter for the higher education institutions. Following the release of the EGFSN Report, my Department asked the Higher Education Authority to initiate a discussion across higher education institutions regarding the desirability or otherwise of awarding bonus points. The overall view emerging was that the introduction of bonus points was unlikely to dramatically increase uptake of Higher Level Maths and unlikely to contribute to the national objective of greater participation in science, technology and engineering courses. The Report of the Points Commission in 1999 considered the issue of bonus points and recommended against such an approach on the grounds that it would lead to a narrowing of the range of subjects taken by students, create pressure on students to make early career choices, give rise to equity issues where the subject was not available and lead to distortions in the third level access and provision. Providing bonus points could reinforce the perception that Maths is a difficult subject. It should be noted that when bonus points were removed in 1994 on foot of curricular reform, participation in Higher Level Maths increased. We can therefore conclude that curriculum reform has more impact than points in this area. Introducing bonus points would inevitably lead to similar demands in other subjects such as science. The education sector must cater for all students, and placing some subjects at a higher value, notwithstanding the importance of other sectors of the economy, and the abilities and interests and legitimate choices of students, could potentially be counterproductive to the overall interests of the system.
