Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 February 2012
12Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he is reviewing the establishment of computer science as full syllabus subject at primary level and at secondary junior and senior cycle level in view of the ever increasing importance of computer science graduates to the economy here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10011/12]
View answerI have no plans to introduce computer science as a curriculum subject. The focus in schools is on using information and communications technology, ICT, as a tool in learning, guided by the ICT curriculum framework developed by the NCCA. This is supported by digital content on the scoilnet website, by professional development programmes for teachers and by investment in ICT infrastructure. All post-primary schools will be connected to a 100 mbps broadband service by the end of 2014. This will provide for improved integration of ICT in learning.
The forthcoming reforms in junior cycle will allow for the introduction of school-developed short courses of 100 hours duration as an option. This will provide further opportunities for schools to progress the provision of courses in computer science. In addition, ICT will be an area of essential learning which all students will be required to experience, and managing information and thinking will be embedded in subjects as a core skill. There is also a transition year option in respect of having fun with computer programming and games and, under the ICT action plan, this is being expanded nationally.
On behalf of the children of Bonnybrook, Priorswood and Darndale in my constituency and those in other areas, I thank the Minister for rowing back on the planned cuts in respect of the DEIS programme. This is a significant and important development for the children to whom I refer.
I sometimes feel that in respect of the matter to which I have just referred and in the context of others, the Minister has become a sort of prisoner of Marlborough Street. He will recall that we had one or two meetings in respect of other matters at his office in the Department of Education and Skills and I am of the view that the culture which obtains in that institution has captured him. The Minister just read out exactly the same reply which he gave to me on two previous occasions since this Dáil came into being. I am not referring to information and communications technology, giving children laptops or making them familiar with computers, I am referring rather to computer science. The chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt, recently criticised the British education system and stated that the country which invented computers had lost sight of the fact that there is a need to embed computer-related subjects in the school curriculum. I refer, here, to programming and analytical mathematics. The Minister will be aware that one of Ireland's great mathematicians, Mr. William Rowan Hamilton, invented the quaternions that are used in computer gaming.
There is evidence that from a very young age children can become interested in computers and there are even babies who can use iPads. I am aware that the Minister is computer literate and I wish to impress on him the need to foster a situation whereby children might be exposed to computers right throughout primary level. I have in my possession a very simple curriculum which includes subjects such as an introduction to programming, computing and data analysis, robotics and web design. We need to familiarise children with these subjects and then include them on the curriculum.
It was stated recently that there are approximately 5,000 vacancies in the ICT industry here and that these cannot be filled from among the ranks of our young people because they do not have the necessary skills. The Minister referred earlier to the great Donogh O'Malley who introduced free second level education. If the Minister is seeking a big idea, then perhaps it could revolve around enabling children to take computer science as a fully-fledged subject right the way up to leaving certificate level. He should try to break free from the chains that have been put around him in Marlborough Street.
Good man, Deputy Broughan.
I do not share the Deputy's concern that I have been captured by Marlborough Street. I certainly do not feel that to be the case.
The Minister was well locked in on the previous occasion on which I visited him there. The place was like a fortress.
That was a slightly different event and a different situation.
Deputy Broughan is a professional educationalist, whereas I am not. I cannot argue with him in respect of the points he has articulated. However, the note with which I have been supplied states that it is not feasible to teach everything in school and that education policy is becoming increasingly focused on learning over the length of a person's life span. Young people are learning how to use computers in the day-to-day environment of school. I have seen evidence of this in my own home with my 17 year old son who is always using the computer to complete homework assignments and to do other things.
I presume the Deputy was referring to computer science being taken as a specific subject at second level.
I do not know whether that would be possible. We could certainly consider it in terms of reform of the junior certificate examination and make it a specific subject designed to prepare the ground for those young people who might wish to pursue a career in computers. There is a worldwide shortage of highly computer-literate people, which is why we are experiencing difficulties in filling vacancies. In that context the Skillnets programme and the ICT action plan, which I recently launched, provide people with the opportunity to convert their skills. Some 750 placements are available under the action plan. I would be quite happy to raise this matter with the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA, to discover whether a specific module could be included in the new curriculum for junior certificate students.
I thank the Minister for his reply. He will be aware that when he was leader of the Labour Party and I was one of its spokespersons, our ambition was to have a computer at every desk for every child all the way up through the education system. We have now gone beyond that. Those who work in this area have often referred to the example of people learning how to drive cars. In this instance, we are discussing the engineering relating to cars and how cars are made. Clearly this is an industry which is extremely important to our country and which has great potential in economic terms.
I already referred to Google, the Irish headquarters of which is located in the Minister's constituency. I also referred to Mr. Eric Schmidt, who helped Larry Page and Sergey Brin launch that company, and the fact that he informed Britain - which has a lacuna similar to that which exists here in its school curriculum - that it invented the mathematics, and so on, relating to this technology but that it is now ignoring said technology and is not prepared to be innovative. I welcome the Minister's comment to the effect that he will raise this matter with the NCCA.
Deputy Smith would have heard Lord Puttnam, who has a great interest in education and who is chancellor of the Open University, speak at several recent events. In the context of digitalising the written word, Lord Puttnam argues that the use of computer technology is transforming the blackboard into the white board. The use of ICT is transforming the way in which education and communication are delivered. People face quite a major challenge in this regard, particularly those in the teaching profession. It is, after all, teachers who we will ask to deliver in this area. I will discuss with the NCCA the ideas Deputy Broughan has articulated.
Computer science graduates would be needed.
