Every school in Dumfries and Galloway will finally have fast internet connections by next week to allow for digital learning in the classroom.
A virtual desktop programme being rolled out by the council dragged on last year, with Sanquhar, Sheuchan, St Joseph’s, St Ninian’s and Leswalt all experiencing lengthy delays on their broadband upgrade.
However, a positive update was delivered at the council’s education committee on Tuesday.
Graeme McIllorum, the council’s senior manager for business and tech solutions, confirmed the internet works were completed at Sanquhar and Sheuchan primaries this week, with St Joseph’s and St Ninian’s set for connection at the beginning of next week.
Mid and Upper Nithsdale Councillor Jim Dempster, who had repeatedly been calling for installation work to be progressed, said: “Are we comfortable now that every school in the region will be up to standard in terms of connectivity and broadband speed?”
Graeme McIllorum replied: “Yes, each school will have a minimum of 100MB (broadband speed) – as far as primary schools go.
“It should 500 or 1,000 as far as secondary schools go. That, if we look at Education Scotland’s recommendations, is probably slightly more than those recommendations. “
The council is also looking at introducing a mobile learning network to resolve internet speed issues, particularly at peak usage times.
This will enable all ipads to access the internet without the use of a Mifi box, which incur data charges for the school.
Meanwhile, a software update to Windows 10 is now complete at all primary schools in the region.
A report tabled at the education committee states: “All schools have had older devices replaced and many existing devices fitted with solid state drives to improve performance.”
