Published: 7/12/2011 at
12:00 AM
Newspaper section: Business
A major promise of the Yingluck Shinawatra administration _
one tablet per child _ is moving forward with the establishment by the
Education Ministry of a product specification committee to outline guidelines
for bidders, with bidding expected next June.
The 1.2-billion-baht project will entail four grades of
tablets ranging from 2,500 to 20,000 baht to match individual schools' demand
and budgets, Chinnapat Bhumirat, secretary-general of the Office of the Basic
Education Commission (Obec) under the ministry, said recently.
He said Obec had invited representatives from the Education,
ICT and Science and Technology ministries as committee members.
The committee will define minimum product specifications for
the four grades, valued at 20,000 baht, 7,000 baht, 4,000 baht and 2,500 baht.
"We've set an average price of 3,100 baht per tablet,
but a financing scheme will be available for schools wanting higher-quality
devices for their students. Schools under Obec will be allowed to choose which
product suits their financial capabilities," said Dr Chinnapat.
The 1.2-billion-baht budget will provide tablets to 500,000
Prathom 1 students out of 800,000 under Obec.
Dr Chinnapat said public hearings are expected next month
with bidding expected in June.
Apple Inc, the world's No.1 tablet maker, has confirmed it
will next week submit its proposal featuring content specifically aimed at
secondary school students.
In the first round of discussions last month, Apple said it
could offer comprehensive educational content, including training apps and data
backup.
Dr Chinnapat said the company's App Store could serve as an
application source for students.
"Apple has to prove the efficiency of its content, as
we'll need to show a proven record in order to seek budget approval for fiscal
2013 if we want to equip these secondary school students with Apple
devices," he said.
Lenovo, the China-based computer maker, has agreed to
provide 600 tablets for free preliminary testing.
The devices will be distributed to five pilot schools _
Rachawinit School and Srinakharinwirot University's Prasarnmit Demonstration
School, both in Bangkok; Anuban Lampang School in Lampang; Anuban Phangnga
School in Phangnga; and Sanambin School in Khon Kaen _ this month.
The one-year pilot project gauges the impact of tablets on
children and evaluate the devices' effectiveness, with Obec and
Srinakharinwirot University in charge of the assessment.
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