Recommendation 22 Role of information science

'''Recommendation 22. We recommend that the Government consider enhancing the role of information science in the education sector.'''

Comment: Information Science, particularly if it includes Computer Science, needs strong support in schools. We need to lift it from familiarity with use to administration then to development of new tools or products and finally to the Science. There should be focus on this area particularly to emphasize career paths. Student funding should focus on Computer Science and Software Engineering from Year 13 Scholarships to PhD. NZ has lost major international product and research projects because we are not producing sufficient PhDs in Computer Science nor recognising a paraprofessional role. In the schools sector this requires that suitably qualified teachers be recruited. It will be necessary to address the pay levels for work-experienced ICT practitioners and to allow them to qualify for teaching in their domain of experience under specialised part-time courses.

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