§ Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give details in the Official Report of the progress which has been made in developing the use of microtechnology (a) in primary schools by pupils and teachers, (b) in secondary schools by pupils and teachers, (c) in further education by students and lecturers and (d) in higher education by students and lecturers; if he will outline the steps he is taking further to increase the use of microtechnology in each of these areas; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. William Shelton[pursuant to his reply, 23 July 1982, c. 308]: The microelectronics education programme, now in its third year, has established a regional network of centres at which primary and secondary school teachers can seek advice and obtain information about the use of microcomputers as an aid to teaching and learning and about the place of microelectronics in the curriculum. Over 3,000 primary 653W and secondary school teachers have already taken part in pilot courses of in-service training with financial assistance from the programme, and during the course of 1982 a further 10,000 will be attending shorter courses provided by local education authorities in connection with the Department of Industry's scheme of financial assistance towards the cost of purchasing microcomputers for primary and secondary schools. The microelectronics education programme is also investing in the developing of software and curriculum materials for use in a number of subjects. Some of these materials have already been published or disseminated through the regional network of information centres. The programme was planned to cover a period of four years with annual expenditure of £3 million to £4 million. The Government have not yet decided whether to extend the current programme beyond 1983–84.
In the non-advanced sector of further education and in the maintained sector of higher education there has been an encouraging increase in the number of students on courses associated with microtechnology. Further education colleges have also played a valuable role in providing courses under the Government's microelectronics application programme. The Department of Education and Science is currently considering the further needs of the non-advanced sector of further education.
For the three years 1979–80 to 1981–82 the University Grants Committee earmarked part of universities' recurrent and equipment grants for microprocessor equipment and applications. The total earmarked in this way was about £5.5 million. In 1981, capital and recurrent expenditure by the computer board for the universities was £29.4 million compared with £27 million in 1980 and £15.6 million in 1976. In 1981–82 and 1982–83 the Department met all bids from local education authorities for prescribed expenditure allocations in respect of major items of computing equipment for maintained institutions of higher and further education. These allocations amounted to £2.5 million in 1981–82 and £4.3 million in 1982–83. For 1983–84, bids from LEAs for expenditure allocations in respect of computing equipment have been sought separately so that, if appropriate, these can be treated differently from other capital bids.