FREDERICTON — The New Brunswick government is spending $860,000 for new technology to allow more students to learn online — a move prompted by the closing of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Education Minister Dominic Cardy said Wednesday the province has purchased 1,000 iPads with data plans, 500 laptops and 300 mobile Wi-Fi hubs to loan to students in need of technology to take part in online learning.
"Districts have reached out to families and conducted surveys to learn what technologies are available to students at home, and this helped guide the department in determining what to purchase and in what quantities," Cardy said.
Cardy said the devices were purchased under the existing budget by reallocating funds that would have been spent on things like maintenance and fuel for buses after schools were closed on April 2.
The devices will be distributed in the coming weeks.
"Not only is this technology going to help students in the coming months as we live through this pandemic together, it will help us build a world-class and connected education system for the future," Cardy said.
Cardy says the new technology is primarily intended to ensure there is a fully connected student body for the new school year in September if online learning is still required.
"They'll be available for them in September when we have an education system that includes an online component as part of the design, not as a last minute add-on, as it has been by necessity over the last few weeks," the minister said.
Cardy said some students who need a computer or iPad may have been missed in the surveys, but he hopes they'll be identified in the coming weeks.
He said he's also aware there are some areas in the province without high speed internet or adequate cell phone coverage.
"We need to talk to our telecoms about making sure every single home in New Brunswick has access to reliable high-speed internet because we cannot possibly develop a 21st-century economy, especially in the context of a pandemic that requires social distancing and occasional shutdowns of social institutions that keep us away from each other, without the internet," he said.
There have been gaps in coverage in sparsely populated areas of the province for years. Cardy didn't say what could be done to entice telecom companies to address those gaps.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2020.
Kevin Bissett, The Canadian Press
