Computer tablets will start being distributed in some primary schools next week to pilot a nationwide programme that will see the equipment being given for free to all Year 4 students in 2015.

Initially the device will only be handed out to a number of teachers who volunteered to participate in this programme. The ministry said at least one class across all primary schools in State colleges will be taking part, as well as some teachers in private, Church and independent schools.

Students with special educational needs will also be included in the pilot.

The plan is for teachers to familiarise themselves with the device and feed back on the software and applications bundled with it by the end of the scholastic year.

The consultation will then pave the way for the next phase, which will see tablets go on trial in a number of classes from October until the following March.

The union’s concerns had been addressed and the pilot project would be rolled out with its full blessing

The government is planning to start rolling out tablets in September 2015. Pupils will keep the device until the end of Year 6.

Plans for the introduction of tablets in secondary schools will be drafted at a later stage.

A call for expressions of interest for suppliers to provide tablets and software for this one-year pilot was issued last January.

A spokesman for the Education Ministry yesterday told Times of Malta that the feedback had been very positive for this call.

He said the teachers’ response was overwhelming with the number of applicants being four times the required amount.

Interest was mirrored among industry suppliers who came forward with top brands on the market, which they would be loaning for the duration of the pilot.

As a result, the number of teachers and classes taking part in this programme will be three to four times the initial estimate, the spokesman said.

In January, the Malta Union of Teachers had expressed reservations on the timing of this project, lamenting lack of consultation about its implementation.

The ministry spokesman said this time around, teachers were fully on board and their initial reservations had been ironed out.

He added that the union was part of a steering committee overseeing the One Tablet Per Child initiative, which was one of the main proposals in the Labour Party manifesto.

He said that even the call for teachers who wanted to volunteer for this programme was issued in consultation with the union.

A memorandum of understanding that serves as a framework for the use of tablets with children in class, will be signed between the Malta Union of Teachers and the ministry in the coming months.

MUT vice president Marco Bonnici confirmed the union’s concerns had been addressed and that the pilot project would now be rolled out with the union’s full blessing.

He pointed out that teachers were insisting on being in full control of all tablets used in class, by having remote access.

Mr Bonnici added that this would allay any fears of privacy breaches, since teachers would control the tablets’ cameras.

The MUT official said the ministry was very forthcoming about this issue and expressed confidence that any pending issues would be addressed when the free tablet programme would be rolled out nationwide.

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