Romanian Govt To Buy Laptops For Ninth Graders, High-School Teachers

The maxim sum earmarked for the purchase of a laptop will be EUR400, and the number of beneficiaries this year is estimated at 300,000 people. The Ministry of Education, Research and Youth will assign an estimated EUR120 million for the school year 2008-2009, people close to the matter told MEDIAFAX.

The program will be approved shortly based on a draft emergency ordinance and will unfold over a four-year period. The ministry estimates annual funds of 330.5 million lei (EUR1=RON3.6659) for an estimated 223,000 beneficiaries each year, they said, adding the program targets the improvement of educational processes with the use of modern learning and teaching methods.

According to calculations, RON1.43 billion is to be assigned from the state budget over the next four years for the acquisition of 969,000 laptops.

The minimum recommended laptop configuration will be set annually in a joint order of the minister of education and the minister of communication and information technology.