Digital Education Revolution – it does not compute

20/10/11

Nearly four years since launching “computers in schools”, and with just over two months left till the deadline, Labor still has to deliver almost 200,000 computers, according to Senator Brett Mason, Shadow Minister for Universities and Research.

Senator Mason was told at today’s Senate Estimates hearing that as at 30 June 2011, only just under 589,879 computers have so far been delivered out of the 788,000 new computers needed to achieve the 1:1 ratio of computers per student.

“This is only 75 per cent of computers needed, and it took the Government four years to get there,” said Senator Mason.

“Seeing that almost 200,000 computers remained to be delivered as at the middle of the year, the government has to be delivering 1,087 computers a day to meet the deadline.

“In a year up to 30 June 2011, the Government delivered only 244,000 new computers.

“Now, the Government has just over two months left to deliver the remaining 200,000 computers. They need to double the current rate of the roll-out in order to meet the deadline of 31 December 2011.

Announcing the ‘Digital Education Revolution’ on 15 November 2007, Kevin Rudd promised that every one of one million students in grades 9 to 12 would have their own computer.

“Approaching its fifth year, the French Revolution was entering the period of the Terror. Marx said that history repeats itself, first time as tragedy, second as farce, and so, sadly, we are seeing this with Labor and their Digital Education Revolution. Once again people are starting to lose their heads,” said Senator Mason.

As part of his original announcement, Kevin Rudd also promised that all these computers would be connected to a fast, up to 100 megabits per second, fibre.

“I have just found out that four years on, only ten schools have been connected by the federal government.

“The broadband connections are being rolled out at the speed of a dial-up.

“The ‘computers in schools’ program has been right from the start the exemplar of Labor’s approach to policy-making and execution: a grand attention-grabbing idea, but no thought given to details and implementation. As a result, its budget has now blown out, it is way behind schedule, and the second half of the commitment – the broadband connection – has not been delivered at all.

“Julia Gillard, who for most of the life of the program presided over the implementation of this program as Minister for Education, now runs the whole government. I think that speaks for itself why this Government has so clearly lost its way.”