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IBEC, the group that represents Irish business, today welcomed the publication of the Project Maths Implementation Support Group report and urged the Minister for Education and Skills to ensure its speedy implementation. The group said that while the new Project Maths curriculum is an opportunity to promote real understanding of the subject, teaching quality is the single most important issue to secure the success of the programme.

Commenting on the report, Tony Donohoe, IBEC head of education policy, said: ‘If we hope to develop the skills that will enable Ireland to prosper in a globalised and highly competitive economy, being average at maths is no longer good enough. The new Project Maths curriculum represents a major opportunity to teach mathematics in a way that promotes real understanding and will help students to appreciate the subject’s importance for living and working.

‘However, curriculum reform alone will not guarantee success. Teaching quality is the single most important issue. Recent research suggests that almost half of post primary mathematics teachers do not have a major mathematics teaching qualification. This represents a significant challenge, which will require sustained investment in post-graduate programmes to improve the skills of teachers.

‘Only 16.2% of students sat higher level mathematics in the 2009 leaving certificate examination. This is down from a high of 18.9% in 2005 and is significantly out of line with participation at higher level in other subjects. This can be partly attributed to students’ tendency to use maths as a spare subject for CAO points purposes. Therefore, IBEC welcomes the report’s recommendation that maths should be included as a mandatory subject for points purposes.

‘While the report stopped short of recommending the introduction of bonus points, IBEC continues to support their introduction as an important interim measure that would have an immediate impact on higher level take-up.’