President Barack Obama announced in his weekly radio address on Monday that he pledges $4 billion to fund computer science education from Kindergarten to 12th grade. Obama has outlined the said fund in his budget proposal to Congress.
In his statement, President Obama said, "In the new economy, computer science isn't an optional skill - it's a basic skill, right along with the three 'Rs'," referring to reading, arithmetic and writing.
Under this plan, which is called "Computer Science For All," the Department of Education will divide the $4 billion over a three-year timetable to states that have agreed to the comprehensive five-year plan that seeks to increase quality computer science courses in schools. The initiative also gathers pledges from philanthropist and large tech companies in a bid to create more opportunities for computer science training, particularly for groups that are prone to underrepresentation.
Wired reported that Apple said it will provide coding opportunities for children by funding training workshops and curriculum development, particularly for Apple's Swift programming language. Facebook also pledged to double its outreach efforts by connecting with underrepresented communities in the technology sector.
"Our economy is rapidly shifting, and educators and business leaders are increasingly recognizing that CS is a 'new basic' skill necessary for economic opportunity and social mobility," the U.S. Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith said, as noted by Tech Crunch.
According to The Verge, if the $4 million funding for computer science education is not approved by Congress, the National Science Foundation will be allotting over $135 million to fund teacher education for computer sciences courses in the next five years.
In the official White House blog, the necessity of granting wider access for computer science stems from the growing demand for tech jobs and the desire of parents to have computer science taught in schools.
"Last year, there were more than 600,000 high-paying tech jobs across the United States that were unfilled, and by 2018, 51 percent of all STEM jobs are projected to be in computer science-related fields. Computer science and data science are not only important for the tech sector, but for so many industries, including transportation, healthcare, education, and financial services," the White House noted.
"Computer Science For All" will officially be unveiled on Feb. 9. Other companies that have pledged support for the initiative include Microsoft, Qualcomm, Google and Salesforce. The initiative has also gained the support of advocacy groups such as the National Center for Women and Information Technology and Code.org.
