I read with interest of City of York Council's ambition to provide each of 8,200 primary school children with a home computer (Evening Press, April 6). While information technology skills are going to be increasingly important, one must question whether they are needed at primary school age, a period when time would surely be better spent acquiring basic literacy skills and making a start on exploring the world of books.

Our children, for whatever reason, are among the least numerate and literate in Europe. Encouraging them, at the age of five or six, to spend hours in front of a computer screen will hardly help. It will also reduce the social interaction which is a necessary part of growing up. Computers are important but, before the age of 11, other things should have higher priority. The estimated cost of the terminals would provide each child with a personal library of 50 to 100 books. There's a thought.

Dr A H Brown,

Stonefield Avenue,

Easingwold,

York

....I HAVE just read the article in the Evening Press in which Labour is pledging to provide a computer in every primary school child's home.

Setting aside the question of cost, which will be at least £4 million, I would like to share the views of my wife, my daughter and myself.

My wife's view is that many of the teachers do not have computer skills (she teaches at a junior school) and therefore the council will need to give every teacher a computer and training.

My daughter, a university student, said they should go to secondary students who can made real use of them.

My view is that anyone can learn to use a computer at any age and basic numeracy and literacy is what primary education is about.

D R Johnson,

Main Street,

Upper Poppleton.

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