Schoolchildren given laptop-tablet devices

Some 9,000 schoolchildren are being given ‘two-in-one' digital devices that double as tablets and laptops.

In a statement Friday, the Education Ministry said just under 2,000 of the devices, which follow previous initiatives providing students with tablets, had already been given out.

The rest are set to be distributed by next month, the ministry said.

Speaking during a visit to Fgura Primary School within St Thomas More College, Education Minister Clifton Grima said that while students had previously been given tablets, “we felt the need to evolve and give this two-in-one device, which has benefits similar to those of a tablet but also of a laptop.”

The devices, which are being given out to children in years four and five, are meant to “prepare” them for being given a laptop computer in year seven, Grima said.

The ministry noted in its statement that the government’s Digital Education Strategy, part of the National Education Strategy 2024-2030, is set to be launched “in the coming days”.

The strategy is designed to provide a basis for digital readiness, digital well-being, and digital citizenship, the ministry said.