Information Technology and the Education Service (Hansard, 9 March 1982)

§ Lord Orr-Ewing
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
The Question was as follows:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for the education service in response to Information Technology Year.

§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Security (Lord Elton)
My Lords, the Government will continue to support the development of information technology at all levels within the education service. Activities include the Microelectronics Education Programme and the Scottish Microelectronics Development Programme, the "micros in schools" scheme and the work of the Computer Board for Universities and Research Councils. In addition, the Steering Committee for Information Technology Year is encouraging educational activities through its regional committees and a national education reference group. They plan to hold exhibitions and competitions at both local and regional levels. They have also started to plan a national event which will encourage the use of information technology by young people.

§ Lord Orr-Ewing
My Lords, is my noble friend aware that in all parts of the House and throughout the political spectrum there will be wide support for this imaginative scheme? Can he tell us, without risking giving away Budget secrets, whether there will be some financial support for the purchase of microcomputers for the schools?

§ Lord Elton
My Lords, the Government are already spending about £3 million in order to ensure that there is a micro-computer in every one of our secondary schools by the end of this year. We also spent £1 million in 1980–81 and will be spending £3 million a year from 1981–82 to 1983–84 on ensuring adequate teacher training and curriculum development in information technology. We are also now considering how to extend the "micros in schools" programme to the primary sector, and we hope to make an announcement on that soon.

§ Lord Avebury
My Lords, I wonder whether the noble Lord has had a look at the scheme which has been sponsored by Mr. Ian Lloyd, MP—the Havant 110 scheme—for expanding use of micro-computers in his constituency and in the neighbouring educational area; and whether the Government would not consider an extension of the micro-computers in schools scheme to cover a far wider range of equipment than simply the two machines approved for the preliminary installation of these machines in secondary schools originally?

§ Lord Elton
My Lords. I am not familiar with the scheme to which the noble Lord refers. Obviously we are interested in every development of this subject. It is the intention of the Government that through the action of secondary, further and higher education systems skills with micro-computers shall become commonplace in the whole population.

§ Lord Cledwyn of Penrhos
My Lords, can the Minister say what effect the savage cuts which the Government have imposed on British universities will have on the important part which the Minister obviously expects the universities to play in this very important scheme?

§ Lord Elton
My Lords, I have addressed myself to that question in one form or another on a number of occasions. I must remind the noble Lord that, in announcing the recurrent grant to individual universities last July, the University Grants Committee made known its national student number targets by broad subject area for 1983–84, and against the background of an overall decrease small increases were assumed between 1979–80 and 1983–84 in engineering and technology, including electronic engineering, and in mathematics, including in this context computer science. It is understood that the increase in numbers in mathematics is attributable mainly to the committee's wish to increase provision in computer science both in honours degrees and in in-service teaching for other departments.

§ Baroness Wootton of Abinger
My Lords, while glad to hear the pains which the Government are taking with regard to primary schools, I wonder whether they would think it worth while making some provision for educating those who legislate and organising some courses, probably at primary school level, for Members of this House and another place, so that we do not constantly have a sense of inferiority in the presence of our children and grandchildren? And we might be better equipped, does he not think, to conduct the business that we are supposed to be competent to do?

§ Lord Elton
My Lords, the noble Baroness's vision is matched only by her humility, but I think there is a great deal of wisdom in what she says.

§ Baroness Wootton of Abinger
My Lords, if the noble Lord regards it as wisdom, will he kindly take the necessary steps to organise classes that we here could join?

§ Lord Elton
My Lords, I cannot adopt personal responsibility for this, but I intended to indicate in my response that I thought the idea was worth looking at and that I will pass it on to my colleagues who are better fitted than I to take it a stage further.

§ Lord Molloy
My Lords, may I ask the noble Lord whether the Government are facing up to the extraordinarily difficult task of encouraging all forms of new technology, on the one hand, and seeking the restoration of full employment, on the other?

§ Lord Elton
Yes, my Lords.

§ Lord Orr-Ewing
My Lords, can my noble friend say how many teachers are likely to be processed and given the opportunity to up-date their knowledge of this new technology, what would be the average length of the course they are given, and would these be taken during holidays or would there be special release during term time?

§ Lord Elton
My Lords, I do not think the curriculum in this case is subject to central control, but I will write to the noble Lord when I find out the detail of the answer to what he asks.