IBEC says it will actively discourage part time work for Junior and Leaving Certificate students and called on the Government and industry to ensure that every secondary school student should have a laptop within a five-year timeframe.
The proposals were included in a new policy document on the future of the Irish education system released today.
Also among the ten key recommendations contained in the report is a proposal that a business sector/teaching unions' forum on the future of education be established and fees for third-level part-time courses should be abolished. It also recommends that the report on the Task Force on Physical Sciences be implemented as an "early priority".
IBEC is calling on its members to refrain from employing exam year students during term time and cited research from the Economic and Social Research Institute which demonstrated that such work was detrimental to students.
Director General, Mr Turlough O'Sullivan said there had been a 100 per cent increase in Government spending on education over the last seven years, yet "many people say education is under-funded".
He said IBEC's policy document "recognises that hard choices will have to be taken and that the business community cannot shirk its responsibility" in ensuring that Ireland's knowledge economy is fully developed.
According to IBEC, as education accounts for almost 20 per cent of all Government current expenditure, there must be a system in place that is capable of responding to the challenges of Ireland's rapidly expanding economy.
The Association of Secondary School Teachers of Ireland (ASTI) welcomed the policy document but warned the proposals would amount to little if there are not funded properly.
Acting General Secretary Mr John White said today there had been no real investment in secondary education in recent years and echoed the call of IBEC for the report on the Task Force on Physical Sciences to be implemented.