Two weeks ago, I recorded a video critiquing the new draft curriculum for Leaving Cert maths. The video, which is available below, has been widely viewed and shared. There is mounting public concern regarding the proposed changes.

In the video, I compare the new draft curriculum with what is currently taught in schools. Some of the proposed changes to the Higher Level course are as follows:

Students will no longer be required to solve equations in algebra, but simply to “justify proposed solutions”. The same new language is applied to the study of calculus and probability: students will be given solutions, and will simply have to check if those solutions are correct.

Practically all topics which develop and encourage rigour and depth of thinking have been cut out. Some examples of such are the binomial theorem and discriminants in algebra, the change of base law (for logs), the angle between two lines in coordinate geometry, and p-values in statistics. There are many more.

Complex numbers, proof by induction and constructions have been entirely deleted from the course. The topics of financial maths, trigonometry, geometry and hypothesis testing (in statistics) have been reduced down to what is currently on the Ordinary Level syllabus.

All the set proofs have been dropped. Students will no longer study the proofs of any theorems/discoveries in maths and will not be required to reproduce any proofs in the exam. (Examples of proofs that are currently examined at Higher Level are the proofs of the sine and cosine rules in trigonometry, the proof of the sum formula for a geometric series, and the proof that $\sqrt{2}$ is irrational).

Essentially nothing new has been added.

The overall result is a curriculum that is gutted of rigour and depth. Essential maths skills and foundations are absent. In my opinion, the proposed new curriculum will not inspire a love of mathematics. It will not train students to think critically, logically and coherently. If implemented, it will have disastrous consequences for Irish students and Irish society at large.

Perhaps the most important question to ask at this time is: how did it come to this? How could a 17-member team of so-called “professionals” produce such a document? What was going on in the 20 or so “meetings” of this subject development group that have taken place since September 2024? Why was the alarm not raised sooner?

Under the current proposals, students will be deceived into thinking that they are proficient in maths, only to flounder and fail when they enter university and the world of work. This is unconscionable. It is nothing short of a scandal.

We need a strong maths curriculum in Ireland. This new draft curriculum is not fit for purpose. It must be scrapped – and those who proposed it must be held to account.