Professor Vincent Cunnane:

The Senator is opening up a substantial question. I will speak personally. It is my firmly held belief, which I will try to back up with evidence, that that is not how we should do things. The Senator rightly says that we should try to get more girls into STEM. They are subject to other external forces at that time of life. Why do girls give up sport when they come to second level? External peer pressure is a factor. These issues cannot be resolved by a simple test but are complex and societal in nature. We should hold open the opportunity for people to explore all avenues until they are ready to make that decision. The beauty of the leaving certificate, for all its limitations, is that it is a broad-based examination which explores that and allows people to see where their real aptitude is, but that comes later. I do not like the idea of categorising people and limiting opportunities at earlier stages. We will look into that as a sector and come back with some evidence.