Teachers in State schools have finally been given laptops, which they lacked for the first few months of this scholastic year.

The Malta Union of Teachers had warned in November it would issue directives if the government did not supply the 247 teachers still without a laptop with a device “immediately”. Educators needed laptops to prepare material for their students, it noted.

Laptops started being distributed in late November

Asked whether those without laptops had now been supplied with one, a spokeswoman for the Education Ministry said the department responsible was in the process of handing these out. “All educators without a laptop are currently being contacted to collect their device,” she said.

According to the MUT, following “a number of meetings”, the union was informed that the laptops started being distributed in late November.

MUT president Marco Bonnici had criticised the government for denying teachers their “basic tools”, repeating calls for better procurement plans.

This was not the first time teachers started the scholastic year without laptops despite the government investing about €15.4 million to provide all teaching staff, including learning support assistants and kindergarten assistants, with the device.

Millions of euros have also been invested in the education sector to equip all classes with centralised systems that enabled educators to give interactive lessons using state-of-the-art equipment, including interactive whiteboards and the 3D printers.

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