PM: 30,000 laptops coming by January 2011

The laptops promised to the children of St. Vincent and the Grenadines by the Government of Portugal should be delivered by January 2011.{{more}}

Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Dr Ralph Gonsalves made the disclosure earlier this week. He said on Monday, October 25, 2010, the Government of Portugal informed him that it will deliver by January 2011 30,000 laptops for primary, secondary, and post-secondary students.

Last month, at the United Nations, Portuguese Prime Minister José Manuel Socrates promised Gonsalves the computers.

The computers are being assembled in Venezuela, which is reportedly purchasing close to one million laptops from the Portuguese company for its students.

A release from the Prime Minister’s office said: “The very model of this laptop is in use in primary and secondary schools in Portugal, a member-country of the European Union.”

A sample of the laptop was displayed at a press conference in September, and Technical Expert in the Ministry of Technology, Andre Bailey, has pronounced favourably upon the quality of this laptop in terms of its capacity, fitness for purpose, and durability.

“The provision of these laptops to primary school students (nearly 15,000), secondary schools students (about 12,000), and post-secondary students in the four divisions of the Community College (3,000 or thereabouts) will satisfy the demand of one laptop per student,” the release said.