Province to give NS students $2,000 tablets

HALIFAX — School’s out for summer. But when back-to-school season arrives, parents won’t be the only ones paying to equip kids for class.

The Nova Scotia government plans to give 300 students new tablet computers. The budgeted cost per device: about $2,000.

That estimate comes from a $1-million pilot project announcement by the Department of Education on June 25. The project aims to teach and test math in a new way by providing students at four schools with tablets to access free online math lessons.

While not all the program’s funding goes to tablets, the Department of Education confirms it will spend $644,000 on hardware. That equals $2,146.66 per student device. Since teachers will also receive tablets, the per-unit price is likely closer to $2,000.

Currently, no tablet on the market costs nearly that much.

The most expensive Apple iPad (with 128GB of storage, high-resolution display and both Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity) retails for $929. The smaller iPad Mini starts at $329.

Ramona Jennex, Minister of Education, says the hardware budget is only an estimate. The exact cost per tablet isn’t known because each school will select the model that best suits their needs.

When asked why each tablet costs so much, Jennex promised a breakdown of the program’s finances.  Here’s what the Department of Education provided.

Half of the funding is coming from private sources. Local businessmen Jim Spatz and John Risley, say they asked the province how they could help get access to the online Khan Academy program.

In addition to $644,000 for hardware, the Department will also spend $80,000 to train students, parents and teachers; $150,000 to hire one or more project leaders; and $152,000 to install Wi-Fi in the schools.

The Khan Academy program is already available, free of charge, on any computer or smartphone.

“It’s hard to understand where that money is going,” said Shelley Morse, president of the Nova Scotia Teacher’s Union.

She calls the funding irresponsible and unfair.

Morse says the NDP government has cut $65 million from the provincial education budget in the last two years. Instead of tablets, she says, “we could have had more teachers put back in the classroom to take down our class size.”

“We did not cut $65 million,” argues Jennex. “We’ve invested in education in our province. And with our declining enrollment we’ve had to make sure we’re using our resources wisely.”

Jennex says she’s very excited about the tablet pilot project.

The project will be based in four schools: Chester Area Middle School, Oxford School, Central Kings Rural High School, and Whitney Pier Memorial Junior High School.

The schools are spread throughout the province, but each is located in a senior MLA or cabinet minister’s riding. Those members are: Ramona Jennex (Minister of Education), Denise Paterson-Rafuse (Minister of Community Services), Gordie Gosse (Speaker of the Legislative Assembly) and Howard Epstein.

“We have 435 schools,” says Morse. “What about the other schools that aren’t getting any funding?”

“This is a pilot project,” Jennex says. “It’s about 300 students. What we’re looking at is taking the best practices. Asking, how does this work?”

“We have large schools, we have small schools,” she adds. “We have urban schools and we have rural schools.”

Global News asked a department official last week about their plans if the pilot is successful. Would the next step be to buy tablets for each Nova Scotia student? The official said a comment would be forthcoming but the department has yet to reply.

Morse still believes the pilot project’s funding should have been used differently.

“It’s a lot of money that could have been dispersed across the province,” she said.

The pilot program begins this September.