‘By the start of the summer break, nearly 194,000 portable computers will be distributed to fifth, sixth, and ninth-grade students, as well as educational institutions,’ Deputy Secretary of State for Public Education of the Ministry of Interior announced on Monday in Pécs.
Katalin Balatoni, speaking at a press conference held at Jókai Mór Elementary School in Pécs, reported that in the first two phases of the nationwide laptop distribution launched in 2022, 260,000 portable computers were provided free of charge to upper-grade students, teachers, and educational institutions. From this week until the beginning of the summer break, an additional nearly 194,000 devices will be distributed, while starting from autumn 2024, current fourth and eighth graders will be next in line, she added. Teachers and students participating in public, church-, and minority-managed educational institutions have been provided with portable computers free of charge as part of a government-supported programme amounting to over 200 billion forints. She underscored that the primary aim of these developments is to
ensure equal access to digital learning for every student,
reaching even the smallest villages with these devices.
Balatoni also mentioned that education cannot remain detached from digital advancement; therefore, in recent years, they have developed 200 smart textbooks and made over 200,000 digital contents available to students, including physical and chemical experiments, historical animations, and maps. Additionally, 180 smart classrooms have been established. The Deputy State Secretary emphasized that with the introduction of the digital culture subject in 2020 and the everyday use of digital tools, the government aims not only to develop digital competencies but also to teach students the conscious use of digital devices.
President of the Baranya County Municipality László Őri highlighted the enormous assistance these tools provide in rural Baranya, as thanks to this programme, the devices reach even the most remote and smallest settlements,
enabling students to acquire the ability to use digital equipment safely and consciously.
Director of the Pécs School District Centre László Ákos Tóth announced that the machines will arrive at all institutions of the educational authority on Monday. These are greatly needed by the growing generation since ‘children are active participants in acquiring digital content,’ he said.
Over the next few weeks, 193,702 notebooks will be delivered nationwide to 2,581 educational institutions’ 3,085 service points. Approximately 100 laptops arrived at the Jókai School in Pécs on Monday, while more than 7,500 computers will be delivered to the entire county in the coming period. In addition to personal computers, the programme also provides institutional-use notebooks to schools, thereby improving information and communication technology equipment availability and equal access to devices. The programme will continue in autumn 2024 with the distribution of devices targeting students in the fifth and ninth grades, as stated in the event’s background material.
Read more about the programme:
