In light of this, it appears that Minister for Finance Michael Noonan’s latest suggestion for primary schools could prove controversial.
Minister Noonan has this weekend said that every child in Ireland over the age of five should have access to an iPad, in order to build a more tech-savvy country.
Announcing it as part of his budgetary plan to make Ireland more attractive to high-tech firms, the Minister said that schools need to be driving their students on in a more innovative direction.
“We must use the schools to drive it and we must use new ways of managing people. You need to organise people in a way they are working in teams to combine the innovative efforts of individuals to do something dramatic,” he said.
He added: “We certainly should have every child with an iPad at five years of age.”
It seems that Taoiseach Enda Kenny is backing the plans too, as he went on to speak of the benefits of introducing iPads into the classroom.
“I say to teachers, they have to be counsellors and guiders and directors now, because any student can pick an Everest of information on any topic,” he said.
What are your thoughts? Is this something you would like to see come to fruition?
