aTwo schools in Mayo are to receive funding for the purchase of ICT equipment for their classrooms, according to Fianna Fáil TD Beverley Flynn.
Both Carrakennedy National School in Westport and St Peter’s NS in Castlebar are to each receive €15,000 for the purchase of high-tech IT equipment at.
Welcoming the funding allocations, Deputy Flynn said the Government is committed to making information technology a central part of the learning process from the early stages of education.
“Carrakennedy NS and St Peter’s NS will each receive €15,000 for the purchase of computer hardware, software, and digital equipment. This is the first time there has been funding per classroom at primary level and I’m delighted that such significant funding has been allocated to these schools at this time,” she said.
“The Government is very conscious of the need to invest in education in technology from at early stage,” Dep Flynn added. “Carrakennedy NS and St Peter’s are two of 72 national schools around the country in which major construction work was completed in 2008, and which is now to receive this considerable ICT investment.”
The National Centre for Technology in Education will advise the school of the range of equipment available and of appropriate equipment specification which may include a fixed digital projector, an internet-enabled laptop computer, and a visualiser, along with classroom computers.
“The longer term goal of the Government to increase the take-up of science, engineering, and technology courses in third level institutions to help build up what the Government is calling a ‘knowledge economy’, which will help the country remain strong in the globalised economy,” explained Dep Flynn.
“IT skills are also required in many jobs now and this advancement in equipment provision will benefit children regardless of what industry they eventually work in.”
