Between 600 and 700 euros is the new target price for school laptops Flemish education minister Zuhal Demir (Flemish nationalist N-VA) has announced. ‘It is important that parents pay as little as possible, but nothing is free,’ she explained on VRT Radio.
There were quite a few complaints from parents about the “digital leap” in schools. 70 per cent of parents have been charged an annual user’s fee of up to 150 euros to fund digital offerings for their offspring.
‘Schools won’t be able to simply pass on their investments for digitisation to parents,’ the minister said last May. ‘The education department will announce reference prices that schools must adhere to,’ she added.
Reference prices are now available. They include:
600 to 700 euros for a school laptop
500 euros for an iPad
300 euros for a Chromebook
‘The schools are now being notified to allow them to negotiate prices with suppliers’ Demir told VRT.
‘It is important that schools know that it is best not to exceed these prices (by too much),’ says the minister. ‘Of course, certain applications for certain - technical - subjects may be more expensive. We have provided government funding for this.’
Education minister Demir also announced spot checks on schools. Parents who do not have the cash need not panic. ‘A solution must be found for every child who does not have the means. I am thinking of a lending service’ Demir noted.
Parents put on a Digi-diet
In May, the Flemish government also decided to stop using the money earmarked for the education digitisation budget to provide every pupil with a free laptop.
Speaking of a ‘digi-diet’ Demir had already indicated that she did not intend to continue the flagship policy of her predecessor and party colleague Ben Weyts in its entirety.
Coalition partner Flemish socialist Vooruit raises objections
Government party Vooruit is unhappy and has already said that in its view the target price for laptops is ‘unacceptable’.
‘You can buy one yourself in a shop for 600 euros,’ says MFP Hannelore Goeman. ‘Don't forget that schools have 100 million euros in subsidies at their disposal to keep prices down.’
Goeman argues that the target prices have been announced ‘far too late’ in the day. ‘They will only come into effect in 2026. Parents who have now paid 900 euros have no recourse. Education must remain affordable for every child.’