Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris has announced that up to 17,000 laptops will be distributed to third-level students to assist with online learning.
The devices have been secured with a fund for student devices worth €15 million, which comes as part of the €168 million package for third-level institutions and students, announced in late July. The package was intended to help third-level institutions cover costs incurred during the coronavirus pandemic and to support students returning to college in September.
In a press statement this morning, Harris said: “This new academic year will mean many students will be attending courses online and will need access to devices. This investment will allow us to help 16,700 students access laptops and will ensure they can keep up to date with their studies.”
Harris said that “we still have significant work to do to address the digital divide in Ireland but this will go some of the way to doing that”.
“The focus will be on ensuring disadvantaged students will have access to the devices”, he added.
The devices will be distributed through targeted lending schemes run by the institutions. In the higher education sector, this will be overseen by Student Access Offices. In the further education and training sector, it will be overseen by the Education and Training Board (ETB) management.
Trinity has been given €446,244 as part of this fund, with UCD receiving €777,017 and DCU receiving €641,843.
Also part of the €168 million package is an access support fund worth €10 million for students in exceptional financial difficulty. Students can apply for support via their local access office.
“We must also recognise many students and their families have fallen on hard times as a result of COVID-19. We must ensure they don’t fall behind in their studies and ensure they can access this support fund also”, Harris said.
