‘It’s like Waiting for Godot at times’

PAT O’CALLAGHAN is principal of Burncourt National School, a two-teacher school in south Tipperary, where the 35 boys and girls find the internet a vital research tool, particularly for subjects like geography, history and science.

However, it is like Waiting for Godot sometimes trying to use the satellite broadband system in place.

“Pupils love using it to look up information on things as they come up in class, but you could spend 20 minutes sitting in front of a computer, trying to open one web page. Or you could be doing something online and be halfway through it when it breaks down, so you have to start again,” said Mr O’Callaghan, who teaches third to sixth class pupils.

He said that school administration as well as class work is also affected by inadequate broadband speeds.

“If I have a substitute teacher into the school, I’m supposed to submit the details for payment to the Department of Education through its online claims system. But I could be halfway through putting in the information when it breaks down,” said Mr O’Callaghan.

As a result, he often ends up doing such online administration work at home in Mitchelstown where he has broadband with his phone line.

Most of the rural school’s computers run on 1990s operating systems, although it has some more modern ones and the community council has bought Mr O’Callaghan a laptop. But, he said, even if all the computers were new, the school could still not be assured of regular fast internet access.

“It has good days and bad days, and when it works, it usually works well. But some mornings, I could be sitting there for half an hour with nothing happening,” he said.

“We’ve more or less accepted it, but it is frustrating when we can’t do certain things. We just hope a better, more reliable system will be developed that we can use here,” Mr O’Callaghan added.

The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) said the Norcontel report to the Department of Education showed that basic modern internet connection is missing from hundreds of primary schools.

“Almost half our schools have satellite connectivity which works when the wind is blowing from a certain direction, which means principals and teachers must do routine administration in their own time and at their own expense,” said INTO general secretary John Carr.