THE ACT government is spending $17 million on laptops for all Canberra public school students without any idea of how the laptops will be incorporated into the curriculum and improve academic results, says shadow Minister for Education Andrew Wall. 

“This is an expensive policy with no projected outcome,” he says.

“$17 million is a significant amount of money to spend on education when there is no desired academic outcome attached to the price tag. This is especially true when the academic performance of ACT schools is in rapid decline.

“ACT public schools are performing below similar schools in other jurisdictions despite expenditure on a per student basis for public schools being one of the highest in the country; this was a key finding in the ACT Auditor-General’s report into the performance of ACT government schools earlier this year.

“Instead of focussing on solutions that address the decline in academic performance, this government is spending millions of dollars without any indication of how it will improve educational outcomes.

“Every Canberra family deserves the best education for their children. Handing out shiny laptops without a corresponding plan on how they will be integrated into the school curriculum is an irresponsible use of public money.”