Gahini Primary School in the Eastern Province of Rwandago through on a
Mathematics subject. The laptop programme is facing funding shortfalls.
PHOTO FILE | NATION
Rwanda's government is considering a private sector solution to
sustain the state-funded laptop programme for learners, which is having
funding shortfalls.
Under a deal signed in 2014 with
Brazilian firm Positivo BGH to supply 150,000 laptops to learners
annually for five years, the government through the Ministry of
Education was supposed to pay the firm a deposit of Rwf25.2 billion
($29.4 million) every year.
Positivo BGH was to
assemble the computers locally. The unit cost, averaging $220, would
then be recovered through loans to students.
A recent
assessment by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology
and Communication (MITEC) found that it would be difficult for the
government to meet the commitment due to budget constraints.
The Minister of MITEC, Jean Philbert Nsengimana, said the government would look to the private sector to finance the scheme.
“The selected companies will pre-finance the scheme and recover their money through sales to students,” Mr Nsengimana told Rwanda Today.
Rwanda Today
understands that the Ministry of Education is in talks with MTN Rwanda,
the Development Bank of Rwanda and the Bank of Kigali to manage the
scheme.
Reducing annual orders
The
government is also renegotiating the contract with Positivo BGH to
reduce annual orders from 150,000 units to 40,000. As a result the unit
price will rise to $264.
Mr Nsengimana said the revised
contract would also accommodate some adjustments to the specifications
of laptops meant for secondary and tertiary education.
Juan
Ignacio Ponelli, the chief strategy officer at Positivo BGH, said
reducing the volumes has impacted the project and they would now have to
examine their business strategy.
“We are working on the possibility of producing other items for export,” he said.
Meanwhile,
about 11,000 university students have complained about the
specifications of laptops given to them in 2016. They say the laptops
were designed for secondary school students.
Vincentie
Nyangoma, the acting Head of Department in charge of ICT in Education,
at the Ministry of Education said a solution was available for those
students with laptops that had technical hitches.
Related stories:
No comments :
Post a Comment