A new Junior Certificate subject of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) should be introduced according to proposals put forward jointly by Fine Gael and Labour today.
The parties launched "Formula for Success", their proposals for reform of Maths and Science education, identifying areas for reform and development such as greater use of the Internet as an educational tool, improved teacher training and making science a compulsory Junior Certificate subject.
Fine Gael education spokeswoman Olwyn Enright said better science education was crucial to Ireland's aspiration to be at the forefront of the global knowledge economy.
"Today there is a huge amount of competition on the international scientific stage. Any country that believes that China and India will be content to focus on manufacturing, leaving scientific development to America or Europe, will be quickly left behind.
Fine Gael education spokeswoman Olwyn Enright
"The seeds of scientific development are sown at an early age, and we cannot expect to succeed at third level where we have failed at second. Ireland must now take dramatic steps to reform our education systems as they impact on science, so that we can build a new approach to science and technology from the ground up," Ms Enright said.
She reflected concern about the low number of students taking Leaving Certificate Science and consistently poor Maths results particularly at higher levels, saying the curriculum must be "reformed to focus on the exciting, 'hands on', applications of science".
Labour's Jan O'Sullivan the challenge required "radical, root-and-branch reform".
She said Minister for Education Mary Hanafin had adopted a "highly conservative approach to curriculum reform" which had implications not only for the economy but for personal development.
"Economic success is not the only reason why quality maths and science education is important. This year, 12 per cent of ordinary level students failed maths. We let them leave secondary school without the skills to balance a household budget, let alone participate in the knowledge economy," Ms O'Sullivan said.
The poor image of Science and Maths was being unfairly blamed on pupils "while exonerating those charged with their education", she added.
This year, 11,000 Leaving Cert students took honours mathematics compared to an industry-estimated requirement of around 20,000, with unfilled positions in engineering and Information Technology undermining economic growth.
One of the joint proposals was to shift the focus in maths and science teaching from rote-learning towards "real-world" case studies and applications. Greater investment in laboratory and computer equipment was also called for.