Mayo TD welcomes clarification that laptops will not be required for students
Deputy Lawless stated that parents in his constituency have reached out to him regarding the requirement of a school laptop.
Mayo TD Paul Lawless has welcomed clarification from the Minister for Education that there is no requirement for Leaving Cert or Junior Cert students to have their own laptop.
Speaking on the announcement, Deputy Lawless has stated a number of parents in his constituency have contacted him in recent weeks expressing concern that they were being asked to purchase laptops for their school children.
"During this cost-of-living crisis, many parents are to the pin of their collar and extremely stressed with back-to-school costs looming. The last thing they need is an instruction to buy an €800 laptop for their son or daughter".
Deputy Lawless further stated that on the back of these concerns, he wrote to the Minister for Education asking her to make a statement clarifying the matter.
"I am glad that Minister Naughton has now written to school principals around the country clarifying that there should be no requirement for students to have their own laptops.
"In recent years, we've seen significant reforms to the school curriculum and exam process with more of a focus on continuous assessment and project-based grading. This is where the drive for laptops stems from."
He further stated that many of his constituents are struggling to pay for groceries or to heat their homes.
"It is extremely unfair to saddle additional costs on them in the form of school laptops, and it's not fair that some students should have an advantage over others just based on their family's income streams.
"Over the next number of weeks, parents will come under pressure to purchase laptops; the clarification from the Minister shows that this is optional expenditure rather than mandatory," he concluded.