Provincial governments in Argentina are likely to announce plans in the near future to distribute PCs to public school students, the president of local ICT consultancy Carrier y Asociados, Enrique Carrier, told BNamericas.

Argentina’s education policies are largely decentralized, the analyst said, noting that provincial governments – and not Buenos Aires – hold sway over school programs.

Carrier said there is significant interest in incorporating technology to beef up education in the provinces, but noted that many regions are facing budget challenges.

POLITICAL PRESSURE

The Buenos Aires city government recently announced plans to invest US$200mn in PCs for primary school students.

Buenos Aires mayor Mauricio Macri said all primary public school students will receive their own laptop by the end of next year. Each PC will have educational content related to mathematics, English and Spanish, in addition to other features such as extra-durable batteries and resistant casing.

The government will also provide internet access, as well as product training for more than 14,000 teachers.

Meanwhile, the city’s Banco Ciudad will provide a credit line to private school students interested in partaking in this initiative.

Carrier questioned the announcement, noting that government officials provided sparse details on how the plan will be implemented, which PC models will be used and when the formal tender will be launched.

The analyst also alleged that political motives were behind the announcement.

“The announcement is very fresh,” he said. “I’ve spoken with people who are familiar with the topic, and I have the impression that there was pressure to create a political impact.”

A fervent detractor of Argentine President Cristina Fernández, Macri announced this month that he will run for president next year.

Also, President Fernández inaugurated the first stage of the “one student, one computer” program, which calls for delivering 250,000 PCs to more than 1,200 technical schools nationwide.

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