Old technology holding back student development

Research shows that 41 per cent of PCs in schools are more than five years old

More than half of PCs and software used in UK schools are outdated and in need of upgrading, according to research released today.

Equanet, a provider of ICT solutions to schools, surveyed more than 1,400 ICT managers at schools around the UK and found that 41 per cent of their PCs are at least five years old. The firm claims that continued budget cuts are directly hitting ICT expenditure and technology lessons are suffering as a result, while ICT skills are stagnating.

Some 68 per cent of school ICT managers surveyed said that their 2011 budget was slashed by at least half, compared with the previous year's budget, and as a result, most schools will be delaying their upgrade plans indefinitely. And two-thirds of schools (66 per cent) said that old and outdated hardware and software is holding back student development in the classroom.

Meanwhile, more than half of schools (58 per cent) said they would not invest in new technologies, such as cloud computing, purely due to costs.

"Students have become accustomed to using the latest technologies on their home PCs and even on their phones, so it's increasingly difficult to engage with students if the technology at schools is more than five years old," commented Phil Birbeck, managing director at Equanet.