Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 22: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills her views on whether the recent low uptake of science subjects by secondary school students is a direct result of cutbacks in this field which included the removal of the annual grant to support the teaching of physics and chemistry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18317/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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While 53 post-primary schools discontinued a science subject in the 2009/10 school year and 10 schools introduced a new science subject to their curriculum in the same year, it should be noted that changes by individual schools in the range of subjects they offer is a regular occurrence. It is worth noting that the data for schools discontinuing a science subject in the 2007/08 school year - before the increase in the pupil teacher ratio - is largely the same as the numbers discontinuing science in 2009/10.

It is important therefore to look at the issues around the drop in science from both a pupil demand perspective and also in relation to the capacity of schools to offer science within their range of subjects.

On the demand side my Department is fully committed to strengthening the quality of science teaching and learning, promoting increased scientific literacy and encouraging more students to choose science subjects. An important element of the Strategy for Science Technology and Innovation is to increase the proportions of students studying the physical sciences in senior cycle.

I do recognise that teacher allocations set the parameters in relation to the number of subjects on offer in schools. However, the deployment of teaching staff in the school, the range of subjects offered and ultimately the quality of teaching and learning are in the first instance a matter for the school management authorities. If schools have difficulties with providing individual subjects (e.g through a retirement of a teacher in one of the subjects concerned) some short-term support is provided through the curricular concessions process to enable them to meet their curricular needs.

Some of the additional posts provided for in the renewed Programme for Government are also being used for increasing subject choice in post-primary schools. This is being achieved in two ways. Firstly, additional posts are being targeted at co-educational schools in single post-primary catchment areas to support wider subject choice. This approach recognises that such schools are under more pressure to provide a wider subject choice, including options in the physical sciences, than a single sex school.

Secondly, additional posts for the coming school year are being allocation to post-primary schools that decide to work together with other local post-primary schools to increase subject choice in a town or area. This is aimed at encouraging cooperation between schools and ensuring the best use of whatever resources are available given current constraints. Furthermore it can facilitate the introduction of a subject such as Physics or Chemistry in two or more schools through the recruitment of one teacher shared between them.

While certain grants (including the physics and chemistry grants) were abolished in previous budgets, the Renewed Programme for Government also commits to making an allocation to schools to fund school books, at primary and post-primary, and various programmes at post-primary level, including physics and chemistry. Payments will be made to schools in the coming months and in time for the commencement of the next school year in September.

The issues around subject choice, including science, can also be considered further as part of the consultations with the education partners on the allocation of the remaining additional posts under the renewed Programme for Government.