Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digitalization Krzysztof Gawkowski, in today’s interview on TVN24, questioned the continuation of the flagship program “Laptop for Students” launched by the United Right government.
Gawkowski expressed hope that the laptop for students program would continue, but there is no money in the budget for that. He said that the Ministry of Digital Affairs is in discussions with the Ministry of Education about the future of the program and its financing.
Program “Laptop for students”.
Under the law supporting the digital competences of students and teachers adopted last year, subsequent groups of fourth-grade students in public and private primary schools should receive free laptops from the 2023/2024 school year. They should be purchased centrally and then delivered to the school authorities and students. Devices are transferred to the student’s parents or legal guardians under an ownership or loan agreement.
In the justification for the bill, resources from the European Union budget in the context of the National Reconstruction and Resilience Plan were indicated as a source of financing for the program. Laptops for the first year of the fourth graders, which they received in September 2023, purchased thanks to the pre-financing mechanism of the Polish Development Fund.
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— About 370,000 laptops will be distributed to all fourth-grade students on September 1. Lewandowski: The cost is about PLN 760 million (May 2023)
PAP/rdm
Source: wPolityce