Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 14 Nov 2001

Vol. 544 No. 1

Written Answers. - Computerisation Programme.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

Question:

283 Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will report on the progress of the IT 2000 programme; the ongoing and follow-up technical and training support which is available to the schools under IT 2000; the reason the national policy advisory committee has not been convened for 18 months prior to their September 2001 meeting; the further reason the £81 million allocation for policy development has not been spent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28319/01]

Minister for Education and Science (Dr. Woods)

The Schools IT 2000 initiative was designed to integrate modern information and communications technology into teaching and learning within the first and second level education systems. Over £40 million, €52 million, has been spent on the programme to date from central funds and in addition a further £20 million, €26 million, has been invested by public and private sector partners in the overall venture. The specific objectives of Schools IT 2000 were to put into place a permanent infrastructure to ensure that all students would have the opportunity to achieve computer literacy and to equip themselves for participation in the information society and to give support to teachers in developing and renewing professional skills to enable them to utilise ICTs as part of the learning environment of the school.

These objectives were delivered through the following initiatives: technology integration initiative, TII, involving the grant aiding of ICT infrastructure at first and second level schools; teacher skills initiative, TSI, involving a comprehensive training scheme providing ICT training for all teachers at first and second level education; and school integration projects, SIP, involving a number of school based projects determining the efficacy of information and communication technologies, ICTs, in the classroom. The focus of these innovative projects is to examine a range of ICT strategies and methodologies relevant to the broad spectrum of educational practices.

I am pleased to say that Schools IT 2000 has achieved the following: the pupil-computer ratios are 17.7:1 for primary and 13:1 for post-primary schools, up from 35:1 and 16:1, respectively, in 1998; every school now has a connection to the Internet, up from 25% in 1998. Some 62% of second level schools now have multi-users web access, mainlyvia ISDN; 18% of primary schools and 78% of second level schools now have computer networks in place, an increase of 14% and 28%, respectively; 15% of primary schools and 46% of second level schools have websites, up from 3% and 22%, respectively and approximately 50,000 IT training places have been provided and 75% of all teachers have attended some ICT course since early 1998.

My Department, through the National Centre for Technology in Education, NCTE, continues to provide teacher training and support to primary and post-primary schools. In addition, full-time ICT advisers have been appointed to each of the 20 full-time education centres around the country to provide advice and support to schools on ICT issues on a regional basis.

As an integral component of Schools IT 2000, my Department also arranged for the establishment of the National Policy Advisory and Development Committee, NPADC, as an independent advisory body representative of the partners in education and the social partners, with a view to ensuring that future policy formulation on integrating ICTs into education could be informed by expertise from within the teaching profession and other interested bodies. The NPADC commissioned a study of the impact of aspects of Schools IT 2000, the results of which were considered by them at its September meeting.

I understand that a report, which incorporates these results together with the NPADC's recommendations, is to be presented to me shortly. The report will inform the policy framework within which the £85 million I have allocated for a new three year programme of integration of ICT into Irish schools will be spent. Grants amounting to up to £21.75 million, €27.6 million, will be paid to schools before the end of this year as the first instalment to schools under the new programme.