Education ministry begins handing out 71,000 tablets

The education ministry has started distributing tablets to teachers in Malé as part of an ambitious digitisation programme.

Education Minister Dr Aishath Shiham handed out the Huawei devices to Iskandhar School teachers at a ceremony Monday. The ministry plans to cover all schools in the capital this week and start distributing in atolls next week.

A technology company was enlisted earlier this year to buy the 71,000 tablets.

All students will have tablets after the start of the second semester, state minister Ahmed Shafeeu said at the ceremony. Wireless internet connections have been set up in all schools and teachers have been trained on usage ahead of rolling out the tablets in classrooms.

Children’s usage of the tablet would be monitored, he noted.

The government put aside MVR138 million (US$8.9 million) in the 2018 state budget for the digitisation programme, including for the purchase of the tablets and the internet services needed to support the programme.