When the government steps in to help a particular sector, it is often welcomed with a great amount of relief (as it was the case for the bailing out of British banks) or with suspicion, as it is the case for Monday's announcement that it will fork out a massive GBP300 million to equip up to 150,000 families with IT equipment and broadband.
This, we reckon, is like trying to write on a traditional blackboard with a whiteboard marker. An ill-thought, ill-prepared and ultimately expensive venture that won't solve a systemic problem. We've found six reasons why the government shouldn't push ahead with this scheme.
(1) It is not cost-worthy
Jim Knight quoted GBP300 million for the programme. To put this in perspective, building 48 new colleges across Northern Ireland cost the Government GBP 380 million and benefited more than 22,000 students. In addition, at GBP 2000 per head (based on the minister's figure) for one year, it is quite onerous.
(2) It Adds To The Cost and Distort The Market
Computers are not expensive but having a scheme like the one proposed by the government is. Such a programme will need people to be manned, will take time, will add another layer of red tapping and bureaucracy which means that by the time some computer packages are approved, their prices would already go down. And what will happen after the first year? Who will pay for the broadband?
(3) Parents Just Above the Threshold Will Miss Out
What about working parents who earn between GBP 16,000 and GBP 20,000 and who are not on Income support? They will miss out which will create a subtle but real buffer zone whereby lower earning families will actually have a higher disposable income. In addition, what will happen to families taking part in the scheme and who transition from lower to higher income bracket and vice versa?
(4) Computers Alone will not solve education woes
In a statement, the Education ministry said that "Home access is increasingly becoming an essential part of a good education and having a computer with internet access should be seen as equally essential as having a school bag, a uniform or a pen and paper." Call me old school, but tens of millions of students worldwide manage perfectly well without a computer, let alone internet access. Why not buy more books or launch more libraries instead to serve a wider community?
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