The Nationalist Party’s promise to provide all primary and secondary school students, starting from Year 3, with tablet computers will cost €23.7 million over four years, PN candidate Claudio Grech said yesterday.

He was confident the money “invested” in the 50,000 tablets – for students and teachers in State, Church and private schools – will be recouped by the Government “four, five, six times over” in future.

Three different types of tablets, to cater for different age groups, will be provided and they will be programmed for mixed ability students and cater for disabled students, he said.

Students will be able to take the tablets home and hold on to a specific device until they move on to a tablet for an older age group.

This new method of learning will be rolled out in 2014, once the tendering process for the procurement of the tablets was completed and the infrastructure in place, Mr Grech said.

Some €8m of the total cost will be covered by EU funds.

He spoke during a press conference held at the PN headquarters in Pietà, to elaborate on the proposal launched on Thursday when Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi unveiled the PN’s electoral manifesto. Earlier that day Labour leader Joseph Muscat said he would provide free tablets to Year 4 students in a drive to eliminate illiteracy.

Mr Grech yesterday stressed that the PN proposal was not about the tablets per se.

“It helps children take an interest in education, increase their academic achievement and helps them strengthen their digital fluency… this is an investment.

“It will make them more employable in future and help Malta place among the best digital leaders,” Mr Grech, former chairman of the Malta Information Technology Agency, said.

He said the proposal was based on models adopted by 18 EU countries. It was the “logical step” that built on the e-learning strategy introduced in schools in 2008. Mr Grech said the Government would issue an open tender that would list basic requirements such as specifications and durability. The tendering will determine whether the tablets will be leased or bought through a hire purchase agreement.

The Government would buy national licences for quality content including e-books and educational apps. A fund will be created for local publishers to publish their work on e-books and another will help local software firms create educational apps. Training will also be provided for students, teachers and parents.

Parliamentary Secretary Clyde Puli said feedback from teachers had so far been encouraging.

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