Zuhal Demir: “Friday decision on Digisprong”
© Belga
« There are no longer any big discussion points. We will be able to beat it on Friday. » That is what Flemish Minister for Education Zuhal Demir (N-VA) said on Wednesday in the Flemish Parliament about the Digisprong.
Source: Belga
Today at 5:13 PM
In the coronacrisis, students were forced to switch to home education and schools were confronted with a lack of the necessary IT material. The then Minister of Education Ben Weyts (N-VA) therefore allocated a one-off 400 million euros to give every child a free laptop from the fifth grade. The budget, which was removed from the European relain resources, has since been used up.
The Flemish government must now decide how she wants to fill in the Digisprong. It is certain that it will have to be with less. The amount would be in the order of 330 million euros, for the next five years.
Read too. Schools ask parents to pay laptop themselves next year, and that increases to above 500 euros
Vooruit argues to keep the laptops in possession of the school from now on. « It is very clear to us, we will no longer hand out private laptops, » said Hannelore Goeman van Vooruit in parliament. « We ensure that the schools remain the owner. But come up with clear rules about what the schools can charge to the parents, » she told Demir. Currently, just over 70 percent of the schools require an annual reimbursement of 0 to 150 euros from the parents. The others ask more.
A system where the laptops remain in the possession of the schools is also the direction that the compromise may go in, can be heard at N-VA. The annual reimbursement that schools may request would be limited. Currently the schools are still free at that.
