The pledge by both major political parties to give computers (because this is what a tablet is, after all) to each student (Maltese and international who attend Maltese schools) is one of the most important policies in pushing this nation to the very best in the league of digital savvy societies of the world.

A digitally-homogeneous nation is such an exciting prospect- Charles Theuma

An interesting parallel to this was the French very successful minitel, a mini device distributed for free to all fixed-line telephone subscribers to substitute the distribution of paper-based directories rolled out in the 1980s.

The minitel revolutionised French society, becoming the main terminal for the propagation of information such as train, airline, museums and entertainment schedules and news in every household, the predecessor of the worldwide web as we know it today.

The tablets in the hands of our younger generation means that we will be nipping the digital divide even before it takes root.

Children being brought up in tech savvy families with a proliferation of PCs, laptops, smart phones and tablets in their households have the advantage of acclimatisation with the infinite information source of the internet.

The policy of one tablet per child will mean most to those children who are on the wrong side of the digital divide. These youngsters and their direct families will become familiar with these devices – second nature to the kids on the right side of the divide.

A digitally-homogeneous nation is such an exciting prospect. A new life will be given to our history, geography and cultural sites through the creative use of digitally-enabled transmedia.

Edutainment will become a pillar, where children and adults will be able to learn in a fun way and whenever and wherever the need arises.

Both party spokespersons have identified the transformation of text books into eBooks, thus eliminating the need of carrying kilos of paper to and from school. The annual costs in purchasing newer editions of books due to newer editions being published will end because eBook licences are much cheaper than buying the actual hardcopy book.

Learning is also available through free electronic sources opening up through the corporate social responsibility policies of rich libraries, universities and international foundations with deep financial resources. The eBooks will not be simply textual copies but exciting resources with video clips, animations, models and other creative means to expose the true learning embedded in the pages of the text books.

The tablet will become a natural communication portal with image and audio connectivity made possible throughout the citizenry.

Thus, the telecommunications organisations in Malta will have a larger market and economies of scale will kick in with lower prices for higher bandwidth. An increase in employment numbers in these sectors will surely ensue and, thus, all three major telecoms will probably be at the forefront to support this initiative.

Creative companies will jump in to develop content, educational, communication and entertainment.

The blessings of a digitally homogeneous nation are never ending and the multiplier effects far outweigh the initial costs of the purchase/lease of the devices themselves.

Each young citizen will grow up into a new world of enablement, a rich world of information available simply through asking, which isn’t easily matched by other much larger nations due to the scale of such a project in larger geographical span.

The question is whether to go for a big-bang roll out or an annual introduction to one particular age group. Both strategies have their merits and dangers.

The end result though will be the same. The Maltese need to focus upon achieving the top echelons in competitive advantage in selected niche economic activities, such as financial services, hospitality, specialised manufacturing and ICT. We need to compete with much larger and better resourced nations.

Having a population versatile in English is already one big competitive advantage that has served us well through the past decades.

What the future government will be doing is setting the foundations to ensure our nation’s promotion among the smartest of the 21st century.

Charles Theuma is principal, St Martin’s Institute of IT.