Schools’ computer use hit by poor web link speed

Computer equipment worth millions of euro is lying half-idle in thousands of primary classrooms as teachers struggle to make best use of it with snail- paced internet access, the Government has been told.

Education Minister Ruairi Quinn and Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte are working on a Digital Schools Strategy, due for publication at the end of the year. However, teachers say it will be worthless without giving the country’s 3,200 primary schools the high-speed internet broadband soon to be available in every second-level school.

By the summer, all 730 second-level schools should have 100 megabits per second (Mbps) internet connectivity thanks to Government and industry investment. But primary teachers and pupils must make do with as little as 3Mbps, causing anger and frustration as Mr Quinn encourages them to develop best practice of technology use in the classroom.