Computers in Schools 25/3/08
Statement by John Carr, General Secretary, Irish National Teachers’ Organisation, on Computers in Schools
25th March 2008More like smoke signal technology than digital connectivity.
John Carr told the Education Minister that fifteen months after the National Development Plan was published to great fanfare not a red cent had been spent. He said primary schools had no government funding whatsoever towards the purchase, upgrade, maintenance or repair of computers for five years.
“This,” said Carr, “is the digital equivalent of Nero fiddling while Rome burned.”
He said this level of investment was in complete contrast to the level of investment in technology in education in almost every other OECD country. “One in five school computers is clapped out. The blame for this lies squarely with government and it amounts to sheer neglect. Failure to develop the computer skills that this sector of the economy needs will see them go elsewhere for a skilled workforce.”
Carr claimed Irish schools needed immediate investment in hardware and digital content. “We need immediate technical support and professional development,” he said.
He strongly criticized connectivity in schools. “Over a thousand schools have substandard satellite connectivity at the moment. One principal told me last week that the school is on line only when the wind is blowing from a particular direction.
“That’s more like smoke signal technology than digital connectivity,” he said.
ENDS.