Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Education, Thomas Byrne has called on the Minister for Education to urgently increase supports for DEIS schools so that they can try to carry out distance learning while the schools remain closed.
Deputy Byrne said that it was reasonable to assume, as indicated by the Taoiseach last week, that school closures will be extended beyond March 29th.
Deputy Byrne said, “The ongoing closure of schools is having a real and lasting impact on children’s education and we must limit that in any way possible.
“Experience in other countries has shown that school closures can impact school completion rates, and we know that those in households with lower incomes can be faced with disproportionate barriers to distance learning.
“Simple issues like the quality of hardware available, internet speeds, access to broadband or having newer hardware which would not normally be such an issue become more pronounced in these circumstances. It is important that the Minister for Education puts measures in place to remove these barriers in so far as possible.
“Minister McHugh should ask the Department of Education to draw up a suite of measures for children currently enrolled in DEIS schools to ensure the high quality of their education is maintained throughout this COVID-19 crisis.
“This should include funding for schools so that they can loan ICT equipment to any child that needs it, or so they can ‘top-up’ the amount of data a child has access too so that they can continue to use online resources without having to worry about data limits.
“The Department should also ramp up the provision of suitable content via RTE and regional radio stations, particularly for those without access to internet connections.
“Many teachers have been doing incredible work in extremely difficult circumstances. They are using their own phones and computers to check in on students and to set tasks for them. It’s important that they can continue to do this across the board and that the children have the resources they need. State support must be forthcoming,” he concluded.
