Government to bring high-speed broadband to schools
It has emerged that the government plan to invest €200 million over the next five years to bring high-speed broadband to all schools in an effort to make the use of digital devices in classrooms more accessible.
The digital strategy was announced yesterday by Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan and will run over the next five years.
Speaking of the plan at the launch, Ms. O’Sullivan said: “Giving our students the opportunity to develop 21st century skills is a priority. Technology is embedded in all aspects of our lives, and is bringing our society new advantages and solutions every day. This five year strategy will achieve our goal of allowing all students to develop 21st century skills. The strategy is backed by the most substantial funding ever made available in this area to make that goal a reality. The strategy is a comprehensive and coherent roadmap to prepare schools, teachers and students to take advantage of the vital role that technology will play in the years and decades ahead.”
The Minister also said the decision of how much money will be allocated to individual schools will be finalised over the coming year, a range of factors to be considered:
“Different schools are in different places. Some don’t have high-speed broadband at all, others do. Some have a lot of IT equipment, others don’t, so we’re going to work out what each school needs. We don’t have a set amount for each school at this stage.”
As part of the plan €30million will be also released to fund the purchase of new IT equipment next year.
Speaking of the importance of technology in the classroom, Ms. O’Sullivan said:
“We are at a turning point in the use of technology in teaching and learning. The technological landscape is unrecognisable from where we were even a decade ago. Digital technologies are now part of everyday life. We must equip our learners to be able to live and work in this rapidly changing world.”