Presented by Robert Clark MP		www.robertclark.net

IT funding and support for country schools

Government schools in country and regional Victoria will benefit from the introduction of the Government's $104-million Information Technology support package.

Under the package, all schools in country Victoria will receive funds for routine and specialist IT support, regardless of size or location.

Country Victoria will also gain from the creation of an estimated 400 new IT jobs and up to 80 new traineeships, as part of the package.

Country schools will receive more support than their city counterparts on account of distance and isolation.

In 1999-2000, $17.2 million will be available, $27 million in 2000-2001 and $30 million in each of the next two years.

A school with 1000 students and around 250 computers will receive up to $70,000 a year.

Specialist technical support will allow schools to tap into emerging technologies including wide-area and local-area networking, satellite services and video-conferencing facilities.

Routine support will also be provided to assist schools with their networking requirements. This will include the design, installation, configuration and maintenance of computer and IT systems.

NB: The range of funding for specialist support reflects the hiring of additional technicians in country areas to allow for travel requirements.

(News Release, Office of the Minister for Education, June 14, 1999)