Swap school bags for laptops, says IBEC

SCHOOL bags should be replaced by laptop computers for all second level students within five years, according to employers organisation IBEC.

In a major education policy document, it also proposes a ban on part-time work for Junior and Leaving Certificate students and compulsory foreign languages in primary schools.

IBEC said greater access was needed to technology as a learning tool in primary and second level schools. Just over one-in-five second level classrooms has a computer, and most are located in computer rooms to which student access is often limited.