All Grade 1 and some Grade 7 students in Thailand will receive free
tablet computers thanks to the second phase of a Thai Government policy
named “one tablet PC per child”, which will be completed by December.
The Thai Ministry of Education stated on September 9
that the ministry has approved the purchase of about 800,000 tablets
from China ’s Shenzhen Yitoa Intelligent Control Co. for all Grade 1
students and nearly 403,000 tablets from Jasmine Telecom Systems for
Grade 7 students in the northern and northeastern provinces.
Contracts will be signed this month and the two suppliers are required
to distribute the devices within 90 days of the signing ceremony.
The populist policy was launched by the Government of Prime Minister
Yingluck Shinawatra in 2012 in an attempt to improve some aspects in
Thai education by addressing inequality and uneven standards of
education quality.
All Grade 1 children in the
country will be able to access the same quality of education nationwide,
whether that child is an heir to a billionaire living in Bangkok or a
daughter of a fisherman living in a village on an island in the southern
part, it said.-VNA