Sir, - The Minister for Education and Science, Mr Micheal Martin, is to be congratulated for injecting £15 million to revitalise the teaching of physics and chemistry at second level and to modernise the science laboratories of our schools.
Diminishing numbers of students taking physics and chemistry at second level have potentially drastic consequences for our evolving knowledge - and technology-based economy. This fact, coupled with the imbalance of Leaving Certificate candidate subject choices between Biology (31,654 candidates in 1998), Physics (10,002), Chemistry (7,542) and Physics with Chemistry (1,299) has to be a matter of grave concern for Government departments and agencies with responsibility for ensuring the supply of a highly technically qualified work force through the next decade.
The percentage of students taking Physics and Chemistry as individual subjects in secondary schools has been diminishing at an increasing rate since at least 1984, even though the percentage of schools offering these subjects has risen steadily to between 70 and 80 per cent of all secondary schools.
Entry statistics for the Faculty of Science at UCD for 1998-99 indicates that of the 441 students registered, 44 per cent had taken Physics in secondary school, 65 per cent had taken Chemistry, 78 per cent had taken Biology and 21 per cent had taken both Chemistry and Physics as individual subjects. Entry requirements currently demand at least one science laboratory subject.
Thirty years ago, 1968-69, entry statistics for the Faculty indicate that of the 283 admissions, 49 per cent had taken Physics at secondary school, 59 per cent had taken Chemistry, seven per cent had taken Botany (no Biology course at that time) and 36 per cent had taken both Chemistry and Physics as individual subjects. Entry requirements at that time did not demand any science laboratory subject at Leaving Certificate. Clearly Biology now plays a major role in satisfying entry requirements to Science at UCD and probably elsewhere also. Significantly fewer students (15 per cent less) now take both Physics and Chemistry in secondary schools, preparatory to careers in science.
The real question to be answered is just why the trends are as indicated. A significant factor has to be the influence on subject choice of the points systems. Between three and four times as many students choose Biology as a science subject as those taking Physics or Chemistry. The perception seems to be that it is easier to score high points in Biology than in Chemistry or Physics, which are judged to be more difficult. This may not in fact be true but the perception prevails and advice on subject choices in school may be driven to some extent by this consideration.
A further contributory factor may be that teaching Physics and Chemistry in secondary schools is no longer seen as an attractive career option due to the limited availability of permanent posts and the counter attraction of more lucrative careers in industry, business, the IT sector, etc. Recruitment of Physics teachers in the UK is now a matter of such grave concern that the Government recently launched a "golden hello" scheme for potential new teacher training candidates in Physics, of a once-off payment of £5,000. Schools there are coping with the retirement of Physics qualified teachers by replacing them with teachers qualified as Biologists!
Without a continuous influx of young graduates into the profession it will prove difficult to stimulate school leavers into studying Physics and Chemistry. Whatever the reasons are, it does not seem to be in our long-term national interests to have a situation prevail where so few are subjected to the rigorous analytical and numerical skills of both Chemistry and Physics. The Biological /Physical Sciences bias needs to be examined and redressed. Modernisation of school laboratories, revision of syllabi and in-career training of teachers may all help to decelerate the disenchantment with Physics and Chemistry but the root causes probably lie with the points system.
A possible strategy which might help redress the imbalance would be for all our universities to demand that students require at least two laboratory science subjects in order to enter science or engineering courses. A less favourable alternative would be to have bonus points for Honours Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics, if not alternative to the points system emerges. Also, student choices which facilitate high points scoring in some non-scientific subjects at the expense of science subjects, cannot be in the nation's long-term interest as students play the game of maximising their points score. - Yours, etc., Prof D. J. Fegan,
Department of Experimental Physics, UCD, Belfield, Dublin 4.