This morning's report by the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) surveyed more than 1,200 ICT co-ordinators in hundreds of primary and secondary schools – and found a widening gap in the education provision between rural and urban schools, with around two-thirds of rural primaries considering themselves "under-resourced".
Problems with broadband connections and the speeds at which schools can access the internet mean many rural schools are not investing in technology to be used in the classroom, BESA said.
It highlighted Herefordshire, Devon and Cornwall as areas of the country where schools are falling particularly badly behind, but said the "rural-urban accessibility gap" was an issue across the whole of the West Country and other rural areas of the UK.
The report reinforces the urgent need for the Government's billion-pound investment in rural broadband, with BT, with youngsters in the West Country complaining they struggle to do their homework when urban schools take good internet access for granted and ask pupils in rural areas to access homework online.
The survey shows almost two-thirds of primary schools in rural areas, and just over half of all secondary schools considered their wi-fi provision "under-resourced".
BESA said only a fifth of rural schools reported that they were able to get their 'ideal level' of broadband and wi-fi access for their pupils.
It is the 17th annual information and communication technology in schools survey from BESA, and backs their Digital Divide report released today.
"There appears to be an emerging tendency for rural schools to restrict their adoption of new mobile technologies because of connectivity issues in the classroom," said BESA director Caroline Wright.
"It is of concern that children in rural schools may be denied access to the latest innovative digital education learning content because of a mismatch in broadband and wi-fi connectivity, as the findings of our research imply.
"In a 21st-century online economy, classroom connectivity to a digital world of knowledge and resources should be a right for every student in their place of learning and not a regional lottery," she added.
BESA said it has made today's research available to the Department for Education and the Government appointed Education Technology Action Group (ETAG) which has been tasked with looking at the future needs for educational technology in English schools.
Key findings from the report will also be shared with the Department for Culture Media and Sport and Treasury joint consultation on Digital Communications Infrastructure.
"More research is needed to examine this issue further, as these findings are only evidence of an outline trend," Ms Wright added. "However BESA urges the Government to consider today's findings and take speedy action to ensure that every child has the opportunity to benefit from an education that harnesses the power of educational technology. It is vital that we equip today's children with the digital skills they need to achieve success in our 21st-century knowledge economy," she said.
BT and local councils are investing millions in bringing fibre technology and faster internet connections to rural areas, although the roll-out of the programme is attracting controversy.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Tristan Cork
Quelle/Source: Western Daily Press, 29.09.2014
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