Australia's school computerization project nears completion

By eGov Innovation Editors | Feb 18, 2012

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Australia's is moving closer to its vision of providing computers to all secondary school students and turning every secondary school into a digital school.

Minister for School Education and Early Childhood and Youth Peter Garrett said in a media release that the 911,000 computers already installed in schools across the country exceeded the national target delivery of only 786,000 computers.

“In 2007, Labor promised that we would bring our schools into the digital age by providing enough computers for every senior high school student in the country, and we have delivered on that promise,” Mr. Garrett said. “It’s imperative that Australian students have access to world class computers and technology if we are to remain competitive in an increasingly digital world."

Australia's National Secondary School Computer Fund provides funding of $1,000 per computer and up to $1,500 for the installation and maintenance of that device. While the national government has no direct hand in procurement of the computers, it released a guideline to assist state and territory governments and non-government school systems responsible for purchasing and delivering the computers in the schools.

“This is more than just delivering computers. It is also about providing the extra digital resources teachers and students need to make the most of the technology, including a $41 million digital package to support the implementation of the Australian Curriculum," Mr. Garret said.

The implementation of the fund is being done in partnership with government and non-government education authorities responsible for purchasing ICT equipment best suited to the needs of the schools. Schools can choose whether to purchase netbooks, laptops, tablet computing devices, desktop computers or a mix of mobile and stationary devices.