ICT grants for 186 Tipperary schools

 

 

 

ICT grants for Tipp schools

 

Local Independent TDs Michael Lowry and Mattie McGrath have welcomed the announcement of €1.19 million in Information & Communications Technology funding for 186 schools in Tipperary.

The announcement was recently made by Minister for Education & Skills Richard Bruton. The funding will be used to invest in ICT infrastructure in primary and post-primary schools in Tipperary.

 

The infrastructure that schools can purchase with this funding includes improvements to teaching computers and shared student computers. These may include desktop PCs, laptops, tablets or hybrid devices, and classroom projectors including short throw or ultra-short throw, long throw, interactive, or interactive flat screens (IFS), and cloud based tools and applications to support learning.

 

Deputy Lowry stated: “I welcome the decision by Minister Bruton to allocate €1.19 million in ICT investment for Tipperary schools. Today’s announcement marks the start of the implementation of the Government’s €210 million National Digital Strategy for Schools.

 

“Technology has become part of our daily lives and it affects how we shop, socialise and, most importantly, learn. The allocation of this funding will assist in integrating technology into the classroom and diversify our teaching and learning styles.”

 

Deputy McGrath also welcomed the investment, which he said must be seen as a first step in the need for more wide-ranging supports for schools that are struggling to operate to their full potential.
“We must see this in the context of the broader challenges that still remain with respect to school building infrastructure or the urgent need to re-designate certain schools as DEIS schools,” Deputy McGrath stated.

 

He said the investment represents “small change for what is required to bring many of our schools, and in particular our rural schools, up to scratch. Many schools in rural areas will be feeling the effect of low speed broadband and other connectivity issues, so those issues must also be addressed if we are talking about increasing ICT capacity.”

 

Deputy McGrath said the funding would go some way toward addressing the needs that exist. “But we should not let it blind us to the massive problems that many schools are still facing in terms of staffing and resource hours for Special Needs Assistants,” he concluded. “Those are the kind of issues that are of far more concern to parents and that must be prioritised without delay.”