Broadband in schools not up to task, say teachers
THE broadband service being offered to Irish schools by the Department of Education is so bad that some have refused it and paid for their own.
Many homes have better connectivity to the internet than the primary and post-primary schools educating 800,000 children every day.
In a week when Taoiseach Brian Cowen is promoting Ireland as an innovation hub, it emerged that only 78 of 4,000 schools -- 2pc -- have high-speed broadband.
The Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) said broadband in Irish schools was "not fit for purpose" and was a major barrier to teachers and pupils using new technologies.
Fine Gael education spokesperson Fergus O'Dowd said students needed to be provided with the best, but were being failed by the Government.
Education Minister Mary Coughlan supplied figures to Mr O'Dowd outlining the level of broadband connectivity in schools, which show that only 78 have the highest service, 100 megabits per second (Mb/s).
Most schools -- 2,158 of them -- are connected to the internet via fixed line DSL, while 935 rely on satellite and 760 have a wireless connection. There are 56 schools still awaiting installation and 65 have declined a broadband service from the department.
The INTO said some schools had refused a connection on the basis that their existing service was preferable to what the department was offering.
Some of these schools had an existing service from particular companies, often in return for showcasing or advertising their services to schools.
Jerome Morrissey of the National Council for Technology in Education (NCTE) said the renewed Programme for Government 2009 provided for the delivery of 100 Mb/s to all second-level schools by 2012. There is no similar commitment for primary schools.
Mr Morrissey said the different technologies used to provide internet connectivity to schools were reflective of the broadband services available locally at any one time.
But connectivity can be slow and patchy, and the INTO spokesperson said the level of broadband internet access was inadequate to meet the needs of modern schools.
"In some schools multi-user access to the internet is impractical or unreliable because of low-level connectivity. Teachers cannot afford to plan lessons around unreliable technology."
The INTO said a result of this "national policy failure" was that "many homes have better connectivity than schools and too many Irish pupils and teachers have to power down when they come to school.
"This has serious implications for the smart economy.
"There is no point in talking about bringing together leading-edge ideas and technologies if schools lack the basics."
- Katherine Donnelly
Irish Independent
