Leading Article: The science of failure

The confederation of British Industry called for emergency action yesterday to save the sciences. It wants undergraduates to be offered £1,000-a-year bonuses by the state to study sciences and engineering at universities.

It is certainly true that science is less popular among students than it used to be. Despite a rise in university applications this year, the numbers studying A-level physics and chemistry have declined by 57 per cent and 28 per cent respectively in the past two decades. Just 12 per cent of graduates leave university with a science, engineering or technology degree. And, of those, many are tempted away by the higher salaries offered by the financial services industry.

Does this matter? Some argue that if young people want to become accountants and mortgage brokers rather than lab technicians we should not worry, so long as they are contributing to the economy somehow. But it matters from a strategic economic perspective. Sectors such as pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, which require trained science graduates, are booming. India, China and Eastern Europe are churning out science graduates. We can continue to hire foreign scientists to fill the positions that arise, but eventually these companies will be tempted to relocate to where the labour and expertise are more plentiful.

Bursaries are a sound idea for reversing the trend away from science among students. An even more effective incentive would be for the private sector to pay the tuition fees of science students. Similarly, the Government must do more to encourage graduates to become science teachers. It has made a good start with its introduction of £5,000 "golden hellos", but it should go further. A quarter of state schools do not have a specialist physics teacher. Vacancy rates for all maths and science teachers are 50 per cent higher than for other subjects. There is a vicious circle at work here. A lack of teaching provision is resulting in fewer pupils pursuing sciences.

But this is not just about staff. The basic classroom equipment is often lacking as well. One in four science laboratories in schools are unsafe or inadequate, according to the Royal Society of Chemistry. And four in 10 were judged by the society to be basic and uninspiring. In 2005 the Government pledged £200m to improve science facilities in schools, but this remains unspent.

Financial incentives are useful, but the key to increasing the take up of science lies in inspiring pupils in the wonders of the subject at an early age.