Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 12:

In page 4, between lines 38 and 39, to insert the following:"(iii) the activities in subparagraph (ii) by programmes in teacher training colleges, and in first and second level schools,
(iv) the Minister for Education and Skills on these matters, and
(v) the enhancement in society as a whole of knowledge and learning including, but not confined to, science, technology, engineering and mathematics,".

We agree on the middle part. That is positive. It is difficult to comprehend that we have a problem with mathematics at primary level. I believed it to be a case of úll agus úll eile and adding the number of úlla.

We have a serious problem at second level, in that some estimates by the Royal Irish Academy, RIA, suggest that up to 80% of mathematics classes at second level are taught by people with no qualifications in the subject. This provides a considerable advantage to those who have qualified maths teachers and can attend grinds schools. As we have discussed several times, bonus points for mathematics have missed the point.

The Minister of State's officials should feed into this and ensure that it is not just once per year that we all attend the RDS for a big science exhibition. No matter how young a person is, he or she should be taught by qualified science and maths teachers. Rural science was a subject prior to emphasis being placed on reviving the Irish language in the 1920s. My grandfather was a school teacher who taught it. What happened to it was a shame.

We can do a great deal at fourth level and something at third level, which is under discussion in this Bill, but if we cannot enthuse teachers at first level and acquaint them with the subject, we should change the entry system to the higher diploma in education to ensure mathematics teachers have appropriate qualifications. The current crop of pupils are pretty sharp on the uptake and can quickly discover which teachers have a qualification in the subject in question. I gather that the most popular teacher is the English teacher, given the significant traditions in that subject, for example, Brendan Kennelly, Seán O'Casey and so on.

What the Minister of State is attempting to do at the top level is a difficult task if the foundations - we have returned to that word - are not secure. Can SFI ask schools of education in universities to address the problems of trying to inculcate the gospel, as it were? It is not just PR. Rather, it is about teachers who can use their knowledge to enthuse students.

I will withdraw amendment No. 12. It is excellent that the Minister of State has accepted the middle paragraph but I tabled the others in the spirit of helping him to develop this area. If it is done in isolation from teacher training, the task of achieving the goals that we all share will be made many times more difficult.