Students could be forced to study science in Year 12 and teachers would be urged to treat scientists like sporting heroes to help reinvigorate interest in the subject.

Retired maths and science teachers could be called back into the classroom to stem the brain drain contributing to the maths and science crisis in the nation's schools.

The radical proposals were among a series of recommendations raised by 50 top Victorian teachers, scientists and industry heads yesterday at a forum designed to improve maths and science teaching and attract more students.

The forum comes amid growing concern about the level of interest in science and maths - among students and teachers - and the declining numbers of university science students.

Suggestions from the workshop of experts - brought together by the Bracks Government to help form its maths and science education strategy - included making scientists heroes like the nation's sportsmen.

The roundtable, hosted yesterday by Victorian Governor and eminent scientist David de Kretser, also recommended paying teachers more and improving their professional development.

Chancellor-elect of Monash University Alan Finkel [a co-founder of COSMOS magazine], who helped organise the roundtable, said making science compulsory to Year 12 would help students develop evidence-based thinking.

"At the moment science is only compulsory up to Year 10," Dr Finkel said. "And a lot of us felt it would be of value for students to become proficient members of society to take science up to Year 12.

"You have to do English so why not say you have to do ascience or a maths subject?"

He said this would not fix the maths and science skills shortage, but rather equip students better to deal with scientific issues in everyday life.

Dr Finkel said it would involve creating a new science subject to meet all student needs, as not all students would be able to complete specialist subjects such as physics or chemistry.

"You would have to add to the sciences on offer, have a more generalist science subject," Dr Finkel said.

Victoria University engineering school program manager Joe Micallef, who was also at the workshop, said a number of people believed that making science compulsory would help students become more interested.

But he said it was more important that students were engaged in science because they chose to, rather than being forced to take the subject.

Mr Micallef supported the idea of bringing back retired teachers, saying a lot of former science and maths teachers would be willing to return and help part-time.

Dr Finkel said it would be helpful if scientists could be held in the same regard as sporting heroes.

"But scientists can become heroes to the students by just visiting schools (and) providing some inspiration," he said.

Victorian Education Minister John Lenders said the roundtable brought together leading thinkers in the areas of maths, science, industry and education.

He said the workshop was the start of formal consultations for the Government's maths and science education strategy to be released later this year.