Future hinges on Ireland reforming education

A top-down investment in digital education, allied with total systemic reform, is urgently needed.

As I complimented the soon-to-be retiring general manager of Intel in Ireland, Jim O'Hara, on his appearance on 'Morning Ireland' last week where he talked about the need to get Ireland to the races on digital education, I joked that there aren't many people left in Ireland who remember how to push a plough. He replied to the effect that unless we change our approach to education, that's where we're heading.

Surveying the room holding more than 100 people with an interest in education at the Science Gallery in Dublin last week, the pent-up desire to ensure Ireland's children are given the same chances as other children around the world in terms of more evolved education was clear and obvious.

When recession hits, progressive nations invest heavily in education and R&D, but the reality at present in this country is that our spending on health is four times that of education.

"In the business world, companies that succeed over time do so because they invest in people. If you think education is expensive, try ignorance," O'Hara told the Intel Education Forum.

"There are four pillars that are needed to succeed in a smart economy. Having the best education system is one (there is a link between education and the wealth of a nation); having a strong research capacity; having a great 21st century digital infrastructure; and having public policy that supports all of that," he said.

Martina Roth, director of Global Education, Strategy, Research and Policy at Intel, who works with governments all over the world to transform their education system, said that the world is undergoing a remarkable change whereby countries that were the leaders are no longer so, and that countries that were in the developing world could emerge as leading the world of the future.

"Knowledge will be the most important resource any country can have, but none of the governments are debating this," she said, pointing out that some countries are putting education first - like Jordan, where education spend is now higher than military spend.

"Why? In a time where information and communications are transforming the world, there is no education system that can cope or stay traditional.

"Students are entering the world of life, work and further education without the critical thinking skills or methods they will need," Roth warned.

She pointed to an OECD study, 'The High Price of Low Performance', where if a country's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) performance improved just four points it could have a knock-on benefit by increasing a nation's wealth by $250bn.

"Every country's public sector will need to take the lead, if this does not happen then we will have an issue," she said, pointing to countries like Finland, Puerto Rico, China and Denmark that have already made the difference.

"If the education change you make is not systemic then change will not happen," Roth, who works with 70 governments worldwide, warned.

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