HSC students will be given a device if they don’t have one
After having their all-important final year of school impacted so heavily by COVID-19, the NSW government will give computers to HSC students who do not have them.
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HSC students without a computer will be given one to use by the NSW government in a bid to put them on a level playing field following the school coronavirus shutdown.
Students will also be given wireless dongles to connect to the internet while schools in remote locations with poor internet reception will be opened during the holidays so students can study.
A total of 11,166 additional devices have so far been given to school students while a further 1006 devices are sitting in a warehouse ready for distribution should the need arise.
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NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said the wireless dongles would allow students to communicate with their teachers for ongoing support.
“It has been a disruptive term for our HSC students, and I want to make sure that going forward they have as little distractions as possible,” she said.
“Ensuring access to the HSC Hub through these additional devices is a good way of doing that.
“Importantly, students provided with devices and dongles will be allowed to keep them until the completion of their HSC exams.”
Secondary Principals’ Council Craig Petersen said the Department had conducted an audit to ensure children had access to laptops, Wi-Fi to figure out the shortfall.
“There is a real concerted effort by the Department to do everything they can … not just over the holidays but in the lead up to the HSC,” he said.
He also welcomed a move by the NSW Education Standards Authority, which has carriage of the HSC exams, to survey principals about the full extent of disadvantage in the state’s schools.
“NESA has actually sent out a survey to every secondary principal in the state seeking some clarification around the extent of disadvantage, not just because of COVID-19 but also because of bushfires,” he said.