Paul Murphy: Schools Forcing Parents to Pay for iPads
Paul Murphy highlights a growing problem: families being told to buy iPads or Chromebooks for school, sometimes costing around 500 euros, despite Ireland's promise of free education. He warns the Department of Education's enthusiasm for ed tech lacks independent scrutiny and that cuts to ICT funding leave parents footing the bill.
What happened
Paul Murphy describes being contacted by a grandfather whose granddaughter was told she needed an iPad costing 500 euros to attend school. He argues that although the minister has advised schools not to make devices compulsory, the practice continues and costs are rising year on year.
Ed tech without scrutiny
Murphy questions whether tablets and laptops are genuinely beneficial for children, saying the Department of Education has embraced so-called ed tech without independent analysis. He warns schools are “dancing to the tune of big tech” and calls for an evidence-based review of when technology should be used in classrooms.
Funding and consequences
The TD notes that funding has been cut for school ICT infrastructure by 30 percent and that there is no provision for repair or maintenance of devices. He contrasts the move to make schoolbooks free with the growing reliance on digital devices that parents are being asked to buy.
Policy stance and demand
Murphy rejects a loan scheme that would push parents into debt to buy devices. He insists that free primary and secondary education must be upheld and that the government should fully fund any technology it requires schools to use, rather than shifting costs onto families.
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Thanks, thanks a lot. A couple of months ago I was contacted by a grandfather whose granddaughter was told you need to have an iPad in school, you need to pay 500 euros for an iPad. I mean it's an absolutely crazy situation where you have free education in this country and yet many schools imposing this massive burden on families, many of whom simply can't afford it. And fine, the minister has written to schools saying you can't make these compulsory, but it is not wiping this practice out across the board. The costs are absolutely staggering and are rising each year. I would say like we need to have a bit of analysis on whether it is good for children to be using the iPads and the laptops and so on. Like the Department of Education has got all in on ed tech so-called without much real scrutiny of whether it is beneficial. That's what's driving schools to tell parents that the kids have to have iPads, they have to have tablets, they have to have a Chromebook. We need independent analysis of if and when technology is beneficial in the classroom instead of just dancing to the tune of big tech as we do on so many other areas of policy. But obviously if the department is going to insist on ed tech being used, well then it needs to fully fund it. Instead it has cut the grant scheme for ICT infrastructure for schools by 30%. It provides no funding for repair and maintenance of digital devices and so we have a bit of a cruel joke whereby school books are being made free, great, but on the other hand we're using them less and less and instead parents are being forced to pay more and more for technology. The one issue I would take with the motion is the idea that there should be a loan scheme for parents to buy laptops or iPads for their children. We're supposed to have free primary and secondary education in this country. I know we're a long way off from it in reality, but we shouldn't be legitimising the idea that parents should be forced into debt to fund their children's education. Instead we should be demanding that the government fully funds the cost of education for every child in this country.
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