Madam, - For everyone involved in science, whether in teaching, research or in industry, the recent investment in research through Science Foundation Ireland and the restored funding in the third-level sector are very welcome. However, I worry that we are building an expensive and well-equipped house on insecure and inadequate foundations.
Healthy R&D in science and technology must be built on effective and well-resourced undergraduate education, which in turn depends on the quality and resourcing of science teaching in schools.
The problem I see is that Ireland is investing substantially in the superstructure of science (research) but is neglecting the foundation (science in schools) and the first floor (undergraduate science education). The excellent Report of the Task Force on the Physical Sciences, published in 2002, has not been implemented, despite many submissions in its favour from industry, the Irish Science Teacher's Association and others.
In America the National Science Foundation (NSF), the equivalent of SFI, has a substantial funding programme for research and curriculum development in the sciences. In the UK the Government, with matching funds from the Wellcome Foundation, is setting up a network of science teaching centres to support science teachers. Can I make a plea for the Government and SFI to consider investing a proportion of the research funds in science education at secondary and undergraduate level to underpin the much greater investment at postgraduate and higher levels?
There is a real danger of building a superb inverted pyramid, which anyone who is scientifically literate can tell you is inherently unstable. We need to invest now in the schools to attract young people back into studying science, and continue this investment into undergraduate science education.
Only if we do this will Ireland be able to meet the personnel demands implicit in the massive investment in science and technology research and development from its own young people. We must act now to secure the future and invest in science education, not just in science. - Yours, etc.,
Dr PETER E. CHILDS, Dept of Chemical and Environmental Sciences, University of Limerick.