TUI points out that funding of Education in general and of the specific provision of necessary ICT infrastructure must be regarded as investment in the country’s future and as such should not alone be excluded from any cutbacks but should receive an increase in funding to assist in bringing us in line with other OECD countries.

Speaking today TUI General Secretary Peter MacMenamin said:

“TUI would estimate that over half of computer facilities in schools are now unusable with funding per student very significantly lagging behind Northern Ireland, where approximately €75m is spent annually and where all principals and teachers have laptops for educational use.

Another area of concern is that schools generally spend considerably more on ICT than the sums made available through grants. This will exacerbate the digital divide in society as some schools are in a much better position to rise private funding, particularly if they already charge tuition fees.

Crucially, the recent reports on ICT will only add to the rhetoric if the recommendations are not matched by the State in terms of capital and cash flow investment in ICT.

With this in mind, we are calling on the Minister for Education and Science to commit to an assurance that ICT will be exempt from any budget cuts in the coming years. Education assumes an even greater importance in times of economic turbulence. The Government needs to commit to this fact.

The TUI is extremely disappointed at the decision by the Department to withdraw the local based ICT Advisory to schools. The TUI accepts that some review and re-orientation may have been appropriate. However, it believes that this should have been done in the context of the new strategy which advocates strong support to schools and provides plenty of scope to use the expertise that had been built up by the 18 advisors as opposed to set it aside.   

Finally the TUI believes that the €252m earmarked for ICT in schools under the National Development Plan, while is a good start, is far from adequate. Even a cursory study of our current facilities shows that a quantum leap in targeted investment will be necessary to secure the ICT infrastructure that our education system requires. “

Measures Urgently Required

TUI recommends that the following measures are prioritised as a matter of urgency to facilitate schools and teachers in making ICT an integral part of the teaching and learning process.

• The replacement of obsolete hardware should now be an imperative
• Provision of digital content for the full implementation of the curriculum
• All classrooms should be equipped, at the least, a computer for teachers' use, broadband internet access with adequate bandwidth, and a fixed data projector and screen for presentations.
• A laptop computer to be provided to every teacher in the country

• With regard to provision of ICT co-ordinators, it is imperative that these appointments are additional to the general allocation of teaching posts in a school. Also, these co-ordinators should have full access to regional and national support structures.

Additional Background Notes

The TUI welcomes both recent reports on ICT in schools as they draw sharp and focused attention to what has and has not worked in the past, where deficits lie and make strong and forcible recommendations on areas for government action and investment. However, the TUI believes that the €252m earmarked for ICT in schools under the National Development Plan, while a good start, is far from adequate.

In particular the TUI applauds the investment objectives by the Strategy Group which concur with the priorities it has espoused for some time. These include:  

• A national framework for continuing professional development to build the capacity of teachers to use ICT meaningfully in their work
• An adequate supply of high quality curriculum related digital teaching and leaning material
• A sufficient quantity of up to date teaching and learning technology, flanked by access to appropriately specified broadband and dependable technical support.
• Well resourced and effective implementation structure and supports. 

The TUI is pleased that the evaluation report by the Inspectorate fairly and honestly highlights that Ireland lags behind other OECD countries in the student –computer ratio and overall investment in ICT and acknowledges that teachers are positively disposed to using ICT in schools if they have adequate access to essential infrastructure, technical support, appropriate digital content and professional development. 

Investing Effectively in Information and Communications Technology in Schools 2008-2013 is the Report of the Strategy Group appointed to advise on the priorities for investment in ICT in Schools having regard to the critical success factors for successful integration of ICT into learning and teaching.  ICT in Schools reports on the evaluation of the impact of ICT on teaching and learning undertaken by the Department's Inspectorate.