THE Donegal Education and Training Board (ETB) will benefit from government funding of over a quarter of a million euro.
Minister Simon Harris confirmed the distribution of €282,892 for Donegal ETB, granted for community education under the Mitigating against Educational Disadvantage Fund.
The fund was secured as part of Budget 2021 to support community education for adult learners, who have the highest level of need.
It aims to increase the participation of disadvantaged learners, particularly with the digital infrastructure including providing devices and software, and increasing their capacity to deliver online learning.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Donegal TD Charlie McConalogue, welcomed the announcement.
He said: “Education is a core platform of our society and we must support any citizen who wants to learn at any stage in their life. We must support the great work of organisations like Donegal ETB and today’s funding is much wlecomed support.
“The funding announced is specifically designed to tackle inequalities and support access to community education.”
The fund is aimed at supporting and engaging with disadvantaged learners, reaching out, encouraging and supporting learners to re-engage with education and training and attracting new learners to engage with education and training opportunities
The purpose of the support is to help build the digital infrastructure of providers, and their capability to ensure that online learning can be delivered in a way that meets the complex needs of all learners.