Goodbye to the subject of Computer Science is a problem: young people have low digital skills

The new education law -eighth amendment since 1980-, the Organic Law of Modification of the LOE (LOMLOE), does not include in its wording the subject of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), which has made several associations of computer engineers, teachers Y students have started a campaign for the Government to pick it up again.

This subject was the only one related to computer science that had been taught so far in Baccalaureate and, although it was not compulsory, it was expressly mentioned in the previous regulation, the LOMCE, among which the autonomous communities and centers could choose to offer as specific subjects, in a list that also included Second Foreign Language, Applied Anatomy or Musical Analysis, among others.

The controversy. In Lomloe, the current Government has eliminated the aforementioned list of specific subjects and has specified only the common subjects: History of Spain, Spanish Language and Literature -and, if any, Co-official Language and Literature-, Foreign Language, Philosophy, Education Physics and History of Philosophy. For the rest, the rule states that “it corresponds to the educational administrations -of the autonomous communities- the organization of optional subjects. The centers will be able to make proposals for other electives of their own that will require the approval of the corresponding Educational Administration”.

By eliminating the specific mention of a computer science subject, the different associations understand that their position in pre-university education is weakened, since before it was at least among the options that the centers had to choose, with a series of stipulated hours, and now it remains At the discretion of the regional Education ministries, include it or not.

See also  Lübeck boxing professional Piergiulio Ruhe hangs on the ropes between the years

A transversal competition. The Minister of Education and Vocational Training, Pilar Alegría, explained in an interview in the sixth that high school computing is not going to be eliminated, but that digital and technological skills are going to run through the entire educational curriculum in all subjects. Likewise, he underlined that the new law grants the CCAA the power to launch the optional subjects they deem appropriate, including, if they choose, computer science.

Is not sufficient. This is what the different associations think. They consider that acquiring basic and eminently instrumental digital skills in primary and secondary education, such as handling a computer or using certain software, is insufficient for the new generations to prepare for the world that awaits them. They should, they explain, also learn scientific and technological principles about the discipline.

Nor do they understand that the excuse for eliminating the subject from the norm is that their competences are going to be distributed in the rest of the subjects. Ezequiel Jerez, spokesman for the Andalusian Association of Computer Science Teachers, points out in The confidential that this affirmation is the same as saying that the English subject is eliminated because there are bilingual centers. And he stresses that teenagers need to become familiar with programming and databases before they get to college.

Computer science continues to be one of the most abandoned careers: trying to understand the possible reasons

at the worst time. The associations point out that the suppression of a subject related to computer science occurs precisely when the need for ICT professionals is most evident. And they underline that for more people to work in the sector, it is essential to bring the discipline closer to children and adolescents so that they find their vocation in basic education, before choosing a university degree a little blindly.

See also  Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order: Insider allegedly has information about the successor

For this reason, they consider that not only should computer science not have been eliminated from the educational curriculum, but it should have been included as compulsory.

What cybersecurity experts recommend that I study to be an expert in the discipline

historical marginalization. The lack of consideration of informatics in the educational field is not new. Several professionals in the sector already explained in Xataka that, despite the growing demand for ICT professionals in our country since 2000, universities had barely increased the number of places for degrees in the field in the last decade.

The secretary of the Council of Computer Engineering Colleges, José García Fanjul, pointed out then that “it is a structural issue, in Spanish society citizens, in general, have very little computer knowledge” and attributed it to its null presence in education primary.

Likewise, he considered it paradoxical that the Government “is putting millions on the table to carry out artificial intelligence projects and nobody is explaining to children what artificial intelligence is”, and stressed that “we are training citizens who believe that computing is something like magic.”

Children without technology, children without access to education: distance learning is accentuating the social gap

Studies back it up. Different investigations confirm what García Fanjul points out: young Spaniards have low digital skills despite being surrounded by technology. An informant from ICDL Europe points out that only 58% of millennials master basic technological skills that help them in their work, despite the fact that most have digital jobs.

another study, in this case from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published in 2015, pointed out that young Spaniards between the ages of 16 and 29 were among those with the worst computer skills in the entire European Union. Of all the countries analyzed, 22 in total, only Italy was worse off.

See also  Gallery: Is the Panasonic Q the Most Beautiful Nintendo Console Ever?

And it’s not just the researchers. The study ‘Young people, future and technological expectations’, carried out by BBVA and Google, shows that young people themselves deny the label of digital natives and consider that they are not sufficiently trained in computers, which is why they demand a greater educational effort from the authorities in this regard.

Image | Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash

Reference-www.xataka.com