Some industry leaders believe that children should learn computer programming in primary school. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

With computers such an integral part of our modern civilisation, the need to train new generations of skilled programmers is irrefutable. However, I do not think this justifies teaching coding in primary school. Obviously, the sooner children begin programming, the more knowledge and experience they are likely to have by the time they reach university. Understandably, some in the IT industry call for lessons in coding at the youngest possible age feeling that this will give domestic companies the edge over their international competitors. However, any curriculum must be a compromise between what is ideal and what is possible given the financial and scheduling constraints under which primary schools operate. Coding is no doubt a useful skill to have, but it pales in comparison with learning how to read and write properly. Relatively few jobs require programming, but a great many require literacy and numeracy, so this is obviously where the bulk of a primary school’s precious resources must be spent. Furthermore, in primary schools, each class generally has a single teacher responsible for teaching all subjects. They have long been required to teach elementary mathematics and English, but programming will be a skill that many of them do not possess. There is no way to bridge this gap that does not require the considerable time and expense of either rehiring new teachers or retraining old ones. By waiting until children enter high school, it is possible to ensure that they learn programming from dedicated specialists. To sum up, although there are potential benefits to teaching computer programming at primary school, these are clearly outweighed by the disadvantages, and so on balance, I am against the idea.